


Exoplanet (Being Rewritten)

by xAoneko



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-12-14 18:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11788728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAoneko/pseuds/xAoneko
Summary: When Exoplanet is threatened by the rise of Dark Magic, it summons twelve warriors to protect it. It seems simple: suppress the darkness and defeat evil, but when EXO face more challenges than they bargained for, victory suddenly seems impossible.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys!
> 
> I really love fantasy, so I know I'm gonna enjoy writing this. I just hope you like reading the story as much as I will writing it. Comments are always welcome if you have anything to share!
> 
> *This story is also posted on Asianfanfics under xAoneko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is currently being rewritten. Link for rewrite will be posted, but I don't know when.

A battle cry rose from the army of soldiers that stood just inside the city gate. Several miles into the field outside the city, another army approached.

The gates opened, and the city’s army flooded out. Swords and shields flashed in the moonlight, and red waistbands fluttered in the wind. The two armies collided a good distance away from the city, and shouts of pain and rage immediately started ringing through the night. Heads hit the ground, and bodies fell, crushed by others’ weight.

It wasn’t long before the defending army noticed that the invaders smelled like rotting flesh, had no weapons, and wouldn’t die.

“It’s the undead!”

“They won’t stay down!”

“Hold your ground, and cut them to pieces!”

The city’s soldiers lined up in a defensive formation, preventing any of the invading undead from moving past. Archers stood behind the front line, shooting at the attackers. Many of the undead had pierced themselves on the vanguard’s spears and were clawing at anything living. Guttural growls came from decayed throats, and yellow teeth gnashed together eagerly at the idea of sinking into fresh meat.

The defense worked well, holding off the undead while other soldiers hacked them to pieces. The soldiers cheered on their comrades, red waistbands were waved around encouragingly, and the number of enemy soldiers was gradually decreasing.

Suddenly, a bellow sounded above them, and the city’s soldiers looked up to see ice-blue eyes and a jet of blue fire. A good portion of the defense was ablaze. People staggered around with their body in flames before collapsing to the ground in a charred mess. Amid the confusion, one voice stood out, yelling something that almost all humans feared.

“Dragon!”

Chaos erupted as the bright blue flames died. Soldiers abandoned their positions with screams of terror as the black dragon dived at them, ice-blue eyes burning as another jet of fire burst from its mouth. A row of soldiers fell, howling in pain as the fire cooked them in their armor. The rest of the soldiers were overrun by the enemy army, the undead swarming over bodies of the living to tear the soldiers apart.

The rest of the living soldiers retreated hurriedly, fleeing back into the castle. The fastest reached the castle doors first and yanked at the handles, but the doors didn’t budge. Even when his comrades caught up and helped in pulling, the doors didn’t move an inch.

“Where did this ice come from?” someone cried, desperately trying to open the doors. The space between the doors was filled with a layer of ice that only grew thicker as they struggled against it.

A roar sounded behind them, and before the soldiers could react, their vision was engulfed by blue and fire seared their skin. They flailed around in panic, trying and failing to save themselves from the dragon fire, and soon, all that was left of them was burnt armor and blackened flesh.

The city was defeated. Houses lay burning, and the undead army finished off anyone who happened to still be alive. The black dragon let out a victorious howl as it landed on the castle wall, razor sharp claws digging into the stone.

A complete opposite to how they were before, the undead lined up perfectly in the streets, clearly commanded by someone else. Sure enough, a figure dressed in black came down the street. He was approximately five-feet nine-inches with broad shoulders and a few strands of black hair peeking out from underneath the hood. He walked with an air of cold arrogance, and an unsettling smirk curled his mouth.

Behind him was a shorter figure. Unlike the former, this man looked at the destruction with an unreadable expression. He wore a white cloak with red patterns that billowed around his ankles as he walked, and his hair was a burnt orange color, illuminated by the blue-white flames around him.

As the two men approached the doors of the castle, the black dragon dropped down to meet them. A low growl rumbled in its chest as it looked at the black-haired man, who reached up and patted the dragon patronizingly on the snout.

“Well done, Yifan.”

Yifan jerked away with a snort, moving aside to let the other man kick the doors in. The three of them walked in, Yifan and the short man glancing around for any ambushes. There were none, and the only person aside from them was a well-dressed man standing in the back of the hall.

“Minseok, seal off the escapes,” The man in black ordered. The man with the burnt orange hair nodded, layers of ice already covering the windows and doors. Meanwhile, the one in black bent down and picked up an object on the ground.

He turned the object over in his hands, a smile playing on his lips. “Is it right for a king to give up his crown when he is about to die?” he sneered, raising his eyes to the figure at the end of the hall.

The king scowled, defiance burning in his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, “Raising the dead is a heinous crime. The planet will not let this go.”

“Unfortunately, I do not care what the planet thinks.” There was a sharp _clink_ as the crown fell to the stone floor. “Once I have gained enough power, even the planet will bow before me.”

Holding the king’s gaze, the man in black crushed the crown beneath his foot, leaving nothing but golden shards and shattered jewels behind. “Leilan has already fallen, and I believe it’s customary for the king to die with his kingdom.”

He turned his back on the doomed king. “Take care of him, Yifan,” he ordered and walked out, Minseok following him after glancing between the black dragon and the king of Leilan.

Yifan stepped forward, eyes glinting in the darkness. Blue fire sputtered to life in the dragon’s mouth, lighting up the hall with an ominous glow. The king stood in front of the flame proudly, meeting Yifan’s piercing eyes with confidence.

Unlike his soldiers, the king burned silently, holding Yifan’s gaze the entire time.


	2. A Mercenary and Two Travelers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited, but if you happen to spot any mistakes, please point it out ^^  
> I've also made a map of the countries for this story, and I think it'll be helpful in terms of knowing where EXO are. Here's the link: http://imgur.com/a/s4Xyg  
> 'Til next chapter! <3

Huang Zitao sighed as he crawled through the thick underbrush. Scratches from twigs littered his face and hands, some of them swelling despite not bleeding. Zitao – or Tao, as he preferred – swore when his sleeve got caught on a bush, the tip of the thin branch scraping another cut on his hand. Reaching over with his other hand, he tried to tug the cloth free, only to be granted the sight of his beloved shirt being torn.

Grumbling about how he needed a better job than being a mercenary, Tao gave the sleeve a strong yank. The cloth reluctantly detached itself from the bush, and Tao continued crawling after mourning his ruined sleeve.

He dragged himself across the ground for a few more yards, coming across a small clearing. With great difficulty, Tao reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, unfurling it to reveal messy handwriting. He squinted at it, double-checking his position before crushing the note in his fist and tossing it away. Shifting on the dusty ground until he was comfortable, Tao rested his chin on the hands and waited.

Just like his client had said, Tao didn’t have to wait long. There were footsteps, rustling, and voices heading in his general direction. Soon, three people stepped into the clearing, stopping a few feet away from Tao’s hiding place. The young mercenary tilted his head, peering through the bushes to get a good glimpse of the trio.

He recognized his target immediately. The hooked nose and tanned skin were easy to spot when the other two had light skin and straight noses. Being careful not to produce any sounds, Tao laid still and listened in on their conversation.

“…so three days?” One of the light-skinned men was asking.

Tao saw his target nod. “Three days at dusk. We meet here with everyone who will help us. Lord Jung won’t know what hit him.”

“Once the current lord is dead, we can put our chief up there and make those weak peasants our slaves,” the third man chortled, obviously anticipating the day they carry out their plan.

Tao, however, had heard what he needed to hear. His client had given him specific instructions to kill the target if he showed signs of malicious intent towards the lord, and Tao intended to obey.

Unsheathing his dagger, Tao slowly raised himself to a crouch, the bushes around him rustling and attracting the attention of the three men.

“What was that?” The three placed their hands on their weapons, warily scanning the area around Tao but failing to see the mercenary hidden in the bushes.

Like a snake lashing out, Tao leaped from his hiding spot, charging for the closest man. The blade of his dagger easily sank into the man’s stomach. Blood gushed from the wound as Tao tugged his weapon out and the man staggered backwards, falling to the ground with a bellow of pain.

The second light-skinned man charged at Tao with a furious cry, sword held high above his head. Unfazed, Tao spun around and landed a powerful kick to the attacker’s stomach, sending him flying back. The man landed on the ground with a thud, sword flying out of his hands and breath leaving his lungs.

A shuffling sound to his left made Tao whip around. His target was running away, fleeing into the woods with his back to Tao. Without hesitation, Tao threw his dagger at the retreating back, watching with satisfaction as the blade found its mark. The dark-skinned man went down easily.

Suddenly, a force knocked into Tao’s right cheek, sending his head whipping to the left. Tao’s staggered, nearly losing his balance, but recovered quickly and launched a roundhouse kick at the man’s head. There was a nasty crunching sound and the other dropped to the ground and didn’t get up again.

After checking that the two light-skinned men were dead, Tao stalked over to where the third one had fallen. There were specks of blood, crushed vegetation, and scuffed dirt.

There was no body.

Tao cursed out loud, turning this way and that. The third man was nowhere to be seen. Tao dropped to the ground, searching for blood spots in hopes of tracking down the target. There was a faint trail for him to follow for a few yards, but it soon disappeared. Even the earth became free of footprints. Tao had to concede defeat in this chase.

Mentally chastising himself for his carelessness, Tao turned back towards the village. This was the first time he had messed up this badly. Not only did he let one of the targets escape, but he also lost his dagger, which was – sadly – the only weapon he had on him. He had enough money on him to buy a new dagger, but it would mean having to cut down on food and pass on a few dinners.

Well, Tao could also forget getting another dagger and keep the money for food. Years of wushu training meant that Tao was a deadly opponent even without a weapon. Daggers were only a back-up and something that made eliminating his targets an easier task.

Running a hand through his hair to clear out the leaves and twigs, Tao decided to leave the decision for after he received his payment. He bypassed the markets, where merchants were yelling for potential customers and customers tried to haggle for lower prices. He trudged through the neighborhood, where children ran around in the streets as their watchful mothers sat in front of the houses.

The lord’s mansion was at the end of the neighborhood. There was a roundabout in the road for carriages to pull up, and a large garden sat between the road and the front doors. The guards at the gate nodded at Tao as he walked past them, aware of the deal Tao had with one of their masters. The smell of peonies greeted the mercenary immediately after he stepped past the gates and into the garden and followed him all the way to the front door.

The door creaked open a few moments after Tao knocked. A well-dressed, middle-aged man greeted him, bowing as Tao stepped over the threshold. “Welcome back, sir. Are you looking for the lady?”

“Yes, is she here?”

“I will be sure to let her know you are back. Please follow me into the living room.” The butler bowed again and gestured towards a room off to the right. Tao tailed him as he led the way into the grand living room and settled on one of the couches when the butler asked him to rest. Tao leaned back on the comfortable sofa, nodding as the other took his leave.

It wasn’t long before voices and light footsteps approached the room. Tao sat up straighter, eyes focused on the doorway.

The lacy edge of the dress appeared first, followed by a feminine figure. Long, brown tresses framed the kind, heart-shaped face, and hazel eyes scanned the room, finding Tao almost immediately. The mercenary stood up, bowing to the woman in greeting, who curtsied back.

“Lady Jung,” Tao murmured respectfully to the lady of the house.

“Master Tao,” Lady Jung replied, offering him a sweet smile. “I’m glad to see you back alive and in one piece.” She sat down across from Tao and accepted the tea her butler offered. “You bring good news, yes?”

“Good and bad.” Tao took a sip from his tea, wincing slightly as the hot liquid burned his tongue. “I found the target, and he had two companions with him. They were plotting to assassinate your husband in three days.”

He paused, and Lady Jung nodded, indicating for him to finish his story.

“I managed to take care of his companions, but the original target escaped and took my weapon with him. I tried to track him, but I lost the trail. I apologize for my carelessness.” Tao lowered his head, hoping that Lady Jung wouldn’t be too harsh on him.

“I see,” Lady Jung said thoughtfully, “Please raise your head, Master Tao. I should be bowing to you for doing more than you needed to.” She inclined her head slightly. “Thank you for eliminating his companions when I only hired you to eliminate him.”

“You’re too kind.” Tao smiled, relieved that she wasn’t angry. “I will be sure to find and kill the target as soon as possible.”

“I’m sure you will.” Lady Jung set her teacup on the table gently. “In the meantime, I would like to invite you to stay here.”

Tao opened his mouth to protest, but Lady Jung held up a hand, signaling that she was not finished. “Since you’ve foiled his plans, I’m afraid that the traitor might attack soon, and I would like it if you were nearby to defend us. Please, Master Tao, the bandits are cruel and ruthless. The people do not deserve leaders like them,” she begged.

Tao hesitated for a moment more before his shoulders slumped in resignation. “Alright, ma’am. If that will put your heart at ease.”

A bright smile spread across Lady Jung’s face. “Thank you so much!” she cried and beckoned to the butler. “Hiro, show Master Tao to one of the guest rooms. Make sure he gets settled in and comfortable.”

“Understood.” Hiro bowed.

Lady Jung stood and curtsied to Tao. “I must go back to my husband now. Please do not be afraid to speak with Hiro if you have any concerns. I shall see you at dinner.” She headed for the doorway, stopping just inside of it and faced Tao again. “I almost forgot to tell you. Two of my acquaintances will be visiting this evening and will be eating with us. I would like you to meet them. Is that alright with you?”

“I would love to meet them,” Tao lied slightly. He never liked meeting strangers that much, but since these people knew Lady Jung, he figured it couldn’t hurt.

Tao followed Hiro to the guest room Lady Jung had provided, placing his meager belongings on the small table in the middle of the room. He dismissed Hiro, and the moment the door shut behind the butler, Tao flung himself on the bed with a sigh, relishing in the soft mattress and thick covers. He didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep until Hiro was shaking him awake.

“It’s time for dinner, Master Tao. The Lady and her other guests are waiting for you downstairs,” the butler reminded.

Tao groaned and sat up, stretching his stiff back. “How long was I asleep?”

“About four hours, sir.”

Four pairs of eyes zeroed in on Tao when he arrived in the dining room. Tao recognized Lady Jung and her husband, greeting them immediately. The two strangers were both men and seemed to be shorter than Tao. They seemed friendly enough, both offering him polite smiles, which Tao returned.

“I’m sorry for oversleeping.”

“Do not worry about it. Please, sit.” Lady Jung gestured to the last open chair, which was across from one of the strangers. Once Tao was settled, she began to introduce the guests.

“The person across from you is Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon smiled at him, revealing a row of perfect teeth. “It’s nice to meet you.” Tao noticed that he was very handsome. Platinum blond hair was parted messily, and Junmyeon’s eyes became little crescents whenever the corner of his lips lifted. Tao thought he looked like a kind person.

Junmyeon’s companion was introduced as Luhan. Like Junmyeon, Luhan was handsome, but in a softer way. In contrast with Junmyeon’s, Luhan’s hair was a dark brown, and his eyes were slightly larger. A dark-blue headband ran underneath Luhan’s hair and across his forehead, preventing any pale skin from peeking out beneath the bangs.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tao.” Tao rose from his seat slightly, giving both Junmyeon and Luhan a slight bow.

Once introductions were over, Hiro and two other servants brought out platters of food. Tao eyed the roasted pig hungrily, trying to breathe in as much of the heavenly smell as possible without seeming too obvious. He waited for Lady and Lord Jung to begin eating before reaching for a piece of pork.

Luhan seemed to have had the same idea because his chopsticks collided with Tao’s in midair. Both men backed off with a surprised noise and small smiles.

Tao gestured at the pork with his chopsticks, but Luhan laughed, mimicking the motion with his own chopsticks. “You first.”

Suddenly, a third pair of chopsticks appeared and grabbed the slice of pork Luhan and Tao were debating over. The two of them looked up with flabbergasted expressions to see Junmyeon chewing on the meat with a playful smirk.

Lady Jung burst into a fit of giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. Beside her, Lord Jung muffled a chuckle in his sleeve. Even Hiro, who was standing by Lord Jung’s chair, pressed his lips together to hide a grin.

A little embarrassed, but also amused, Tao reached for another piece of pork while Luhan lightly hit Junmyeon on the arm.

Dinner continued smoothly as Lady Jung made small talk with the guests. By listening in on the conversations, Tao learned that Junmyeon and Luhan had visited the Jungs four years ago and that they traveled a lot, but the two didn’t classify themselves as mercenaries.

“We nearly ran into a group of bandits on our way here. There seem to be a lot of them these days.” Luhan’s comment snapped Tao out of his musing, and the mercenary groaned to himself.

“Yes, Master Tao discovered that they’re planning to assassinate my husband,” Lady Jung said seriously. “Did the bandits look like they were preparing for an attack?”

Junmyeon and Luhan shared a look. “Unfortunately, yes,” Junmyeon answered honestly, “They were headed in this direction, and almost every bandit had an extra sword on him.”

Silence settled at the table, broken only by the sound of Hiro refilling Lord Jung’s tea. Lady Jung looked to be deep in thought, no doubt thinking of ways to protect her husband.

Luhan cleared his throat. “If you’d like, Lady Jung, Junmyeon and I would be happy to help you deal with the bandits.”

Lady Jung looked conflicted. “Are you sure, Luhan? I know you and Junmyeon just arrived, so–”

“It’s perfectly alright. We would be glad to help. It’s the least we could do to repay you for your hospitality,” Junmyeon reassured.

“In that case, as long as Master Tao doesn’t mind…”

“Of course not,” Tao said quickly. He was a good fighter but would be no match against three clans of bandits alone. “But will the three of us be enough?”

“More than enough.” Luhan grinned. Tao didn’t believe him, but then again, he didn’t know the other two. Maybe they were secretly werewolves or something. He chose not to argue and settled for a hesitant nod.

Immediately after the servants cleared away the empty plates, Luhan and Junmyeon dragged Tao to the market, searching for weapons merchant. The two of them squished Tao between them, unintentionally making the mercenary slightly uncomfortable.

“Do you travel a lot, Tao? Can I call you Tao?” Luhan asked, smiling hopefully.

“Yeah, sure, and no, the only country I’ve ever been in is Halwen.” Tao tried to inconspicuously lean away from the shorter, only to start a little when he accidentally bumped shoulders with Junmyeon. He quickly moved away, ready to apologize, but Junmyeon shot him a relaxed smile.

“Oh, I see. Were you born here?”

Tao stiffened at the innocent question. The poor couple that raised him had always told him that they weren’t his real parents. Instead, they had found him on their doorstep one morning, wailing at the top of his lungs and pale from the cold. They nursed him back to health and then went around asking for his mother and father. In the end, nobody stepped forward as Tao’s parents, and their search proved fruitless.

Luckily, Tao was saved from answering by Junmyeon, who snickered and said, “He must have been born in Halwen. He said it’s the only country he’s been in!”

“Oh, right!” Luhan laughed sheepishly. “Oops?”

Tao saw an opportunity to steer the conversation away from himself. “Where are you two from?”

He swore he saw their smiles falter a bit, but Luhan and Junmyeon quickly recovered. “Moltuva,” they said in unison. “The country far in the east,” Junmyeon added.

The name sounded familiar. “I think I’ve heard of Moltuva before. Secretive people?”

“Yeah, most of the people there don’t like to talk,” Luhan admitted as they walked up to the weapon stand.

Tao eyed the daggers, swords, and maces on display. He was tempted to buy one, but he considered getting his old one back from the escaped bandit. It was definitely possible since he had Luhan and Junmyeon helping him, but there was still one issue.

“So, how do you guys propose taking down three bandit clans with just us three?”

Luhan and Junmyeon exchanged knowing glances. “Let’s just say that we have our own special talents, and we heard from Lady Jung that you’re an excellent swordsman as well as a wushu master. We’re confident we can take care of the bandits.”

“What do you mean by ‘special talents’?” Tao tried to ask, but Luhan chose that moment to ask the merchant for the price of a dagger. Still confused, Tao turned to Junmyeon, who had just finished paying for a sword.

“I know it’s a bit of a stretch for me to say this, but trust us.” Junmyeon’s eyes gleamed. “We won’t let you get hurt.”

Tao still wasn’t convinced. He had enough experience to know that having only three people – two of them with their ‘special talents’ – could not possibly be enough against so many bandits. However, a sudden calm washed over him, all questions escaping his mind and leaving him relaxed and confident. “Y-Yeah, okay.”

In the end, Tao got roped into buying a weapon. He chose a small knife – one that was meant to be used as back-up – and paid. As he turned away from the stall, he noticed Junmyeon and Luhan staring at him with wide eyes, identically shocked expressions on their faces. Thinking there was something on the back of his head, Tao reached over and brushed his hand through his hair. He felt nothing.

“Is there something stuck to my back?” he asked, awkwardly stretching his arm over his shoulder, patting the back of his shirt.

The two travelers seemed to realize they were staring. “Oh, no, no,” Junmyeon said quickly, shaking his head, “It’s nothing. Sorry. Let’s go.”

With that, Junmyeon turned and hurried away. Luhan followed him after shooting one last unreadable expression at Tao. Perplexed, Tao jogged to catch up, still thinking that there was something stuck to the back of his shirt.

The mercenary was about to give the two a piece of his mind when Junmyeon stopped in the middle of the road, looking at something. Tao scanned the crowd, eyes landing on the pair of men huddled together next to a wall. He strained his ears, catching some of the conversation.

“Did you hear? Leilan has been wiped out.”

“No way. That country may have been small, but their army is pretty strong.”

“It’s true. Word traveled from Thesius. They think Moltuva had something to do with it.”

Tao’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He didn’t know a country called Leilan, but he knew from the men's tones that whatever happened wasn’t good. Why in the name of the planet would Moltuva destroy an entire country?

He was snapped from his musings by a sharp shake of his shoulder. Tao started, looking down to see Luhan trying to get his attention. The traveler raised an eyebrow.

“You coming or are you just going to stand here all day?”

Tao nodded and followed Luhan and Junmyeon towards the edge of the village, pushing the issue with Moltuva out of his mind. He had more important things to take care of at the moment.


	3. Exo and the Elven Prophecy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, back with another chapter! Hope you enjoy :)  
> Any kind of feedback is always welcome! Don't be afraid to tell me what you think; I don't bite xD
> 
> 'Til next chapter!

For the second time that day, Tao found himself crouching among the underbrush of the forest, leaves tangled in his hair and gravel in his shoes. Behind him, Luhan yelped as a branch hit him above the eye, leaving a thin scratch.

“How much farther?” he whispered, hand over the wound.

Junmyeon glanced back from his position at the front of the line. “Soon. I think I can hear them.”

Tao could hear them, too. There was a constant chattering sound under the sounds of the forest. Bandits were talking, laughing, and cheering together, acting almost as though they had already taken over the village.

The three of them stalked forward a few more paces until they could hear the stomping of footsteps on the ground. The tops of the bandits’ heads were in view, and Tao’s gaze immediately went to the front of the crowd. He saw his target leading the bandits, and annoyance bubbled in his chest when he saw the dagger the bandit chief was wielding.

_His_ dagger.

“I’ll deal with the leader,” Tao murmured lowly, making sure that only Luhan and Junmyeon would hear him.

“Yeah, but help us with the rest after you’re done.” Junmyeon motioned to Luhan, and the two of them slinked off to the right toward the back of the group. Tao headed to the left, carefully following the bandit chief. He was supposed to wait for Junmyeon and Luhan to act first, and then jump on the front line while they were distracted by the ambush.

Soon enough, bellows of surprise and pain erupted from the back of the bandit pack. Tao looked up just in time to see a couple bandits fly through the air, landing in the bushes with a loud crash.

Tao didn’t have time to marvel at the person’s strength, taking advantage of the situation to charge forward. Bandits wheeled around in shock, but before they could react, Tao had already unsheathed his weapon and cut down two of them.

The bandits had recovered now and came charging at Tao, swords raised above their heads and mouths open in an ugly cry. Tao ducked and slashed with his dagger, effectively dispatching two more bandits. There was a flash of silver to his left, and he hurriedly swung his head to the right, escaping with a small scratch on his cheek.

Suddenly, Tao lost his balance. His left foot was planted in wet ground that squelched as he tried to move. The mercenary barely had any time to wonder why there was marshy ground in Halwen – which had mostly temperate forests and grasslands – before he hit the ground. A curse escaped from his mouth, and he instinctively rolled across the grass, narrowly avoiding the blades that came raining down on where he was lying seconds ago.

Unfortunately, the number of bandits surrounding him proved to be a disadvantage for Tao. Hands pinned him to the ground, yanking his dagger out of his grip and tossing it somewhere else.

Tao hissed and struggled against his futilely struggled against his captors. Above him, the bandit chief raised Tao’s dagger, ready to bring it down into the mercenary’s chest. Tao thrashed more strongly than before, but the bandits pinning him only laughed and shoved him deeper into the muck.

However, the blade never pierced Tao’s chest.

Instead, the bandits around him were thrown away by an invisible force, landing several feet away from Tao. Without missing a beat, the mercenary jumped to his feet, taking on a defensive stance. Another bandit jumped at him, brandishing a sword. Tao readied his fists, ready to fight, but before the two of them could exchange blows, the bandit was lifted off his feet and flung into a tree.

Tao froze in shock. He was certain that there was nobody around the bandit to pick him up and throw him. Looking around, he only saw Luhan, who was looking at him with the same unreadable expression as before. Tao’s eyes were drawn to Luhan’s covered forehead, where a faint glow was emanating. _Magic_.

“Was that you?” Tao asked, voice cracking at the last word.

For a moment, Luhan looked conflicted. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the indecision vanished. “Take care of the chief,” he said before going off in search of Junmyeon. Tao followed Luhan with his eyes and spotted Junmyeon just in time to see the latter summon water from the ground and drench a few bandits.

Tao was beginning to get annoyed with Luhan and Junmyeon for being so secretive and dread what he had gotten himself into. He spun in circles, searching for where the bandit chief had disappeared to. After several seconds of looking, Tao found the tanned man slinking around the outside of the battle.

Without hesitation, Tao went after him, pushing past bodies and delivering a strong punch or kick to whoever tried to stop him. The bandit chief spotted Tao just as the mercenary reached him, lashing out with Tao’s dagger.

Tao dodged to the side and grabbed the man’s arm, pulling him into the jab Tao sent into his stomach. The bandit chief doubled over from the hit, gasping for breath. Tao took the chance to seize the chief’s right arm with both hands, bending it in the direction elbows are not supposed to bend.

A crack sounded and the bandit chief screamed in pain. The tan man dropped to the ground, clutching his distorted arm and dropping Tao’s dagger.

The mercenary reached for his weapon, picking it up from the marshy ground. He didn’t give his target any time to recover. His dagger flashed, and the bandit chief’s head was rolling on the ground.

It didn’t take long for someone to notice.

“The chief is dead!”

The shout echoed through the forest. Bandits stared in horror, some beginning to flee into the trees. Tao, Luhan, and Junmyeon watched them go, forgetting their injuries in favor of savoring the small feeling of victory coursing through their veins.

When the last bandit disappeared, Tao turned to Luhan and Junmyeon. “Are you two magicians?”

“I’m sorry?” Junmyeon blinked in confusion. Luhan stepped in.

“We’ll talk back at the mansion,” he said, shooting Junmyeon a meaningful look. A look of understanding dawned on the latter’s face, and he nodded in agreement.

“Will you actually answer or are you going to avoid my questions again?” Tao muttered dryly, making sure the other two didn’t hear him.

The three of them made it back to the Jungs’ mansion, where Lady Jung greeted them happily. She, along with Lord Jung, insisted for the three men to stay in the mansion overnight as part of their payment for chasing off the bandits.

It wasn’t until after Tao had taken his bath that he saw Luhan and Junmyeon again. The two of them were sitting on his bed when Tao returned, and the mercenary shrieked, not expecting to see anyone in his room.

“Hey, hey, relax. We’re not going to hurt you,” Luhan joked as Junmyeon laughed.

Tao scowled at them, trying to maintain what little dignity he had left. “What are you doing here?”

“To explain us to you. Or are you not interested anymore?” Luhan’s eyebrow quirked up, but the smile playing on his lips told Tao that the other was just kidding around.

The three of them settled down. The playful look on Luhan’s face was gone, replaced by a serious expression. Junmyeon shifted restlessly from his spot.

“So,” Tao started, “what’s with all the magic stuff?”

Luhan and Junmyeon gave each other side-along glances. “We’re not magicians,” Junmyeon said.

“Okay, you’re not magicians,” Tao relented, “Then what are you?”

Tao was expecting some kind of strange response, so he barely reacted when Luhan finally revealed the answer.

“Exo.”

Tao had never heard of a magical beast called an Exo.

“What’s an Exo?”

“No, no, no.” Luhan looked like he wanted smack Tao upside the head. “ _We’re_ Exo.” He gestured between Junmyeon and himself. “The two of us are part of a group called Exo.”

“Well, congratulations,” Tao said coldly, “What does that have to do with your magic?”

Junmyeon quickly covered Luhan’s mouth before the frustrated man could say anything. “You’re going about it wrong. Let me tell him.”

Tao was secretly relieved when Junmyeon interrupted Luhan. He felt that Junmyeon would be better at explaining things since he was the more patient one of the two, whereas Luhan acted as though Tao should have been familiar with the basics already.

“Remember when we overheard the men talking about Moltuva taking over Leilan?” Junmyeon asked.

Tao nodded.

“What the men were saying is true. Leilan fell to Moltuva five days ago.” Junmyeon clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers. “In fact, Moltuva intends to take over all of Exoplanet. The Prince of Moltuva recently became king, and he is amassing an army to invade the other countries.”

Tao thought it sounded as though Junmyeon had rehearsed this story several times before. “How do you know?” the mercenary asked.

“We are from Moltuva, remember?” Junmyeon pointed at Luhan, then at himself. “I used to be a soldier there. I bear firsthand witness to some of the things Moltuva has been doing to prepare for the large-scale invasion.”

“Are you serious?” Tao asked in disbelief. When Junmyeon nodded, Tao let out a deep breath. “Why?”

“Honestly, I never found out. Luhan and I left soon after the Moltuvian king began to grow his army,” Junmyeon explained.

Tao groaned, dragging one hand down his face. “Okay, so what does that have to do with your magic?”

“We were given these powers to stop Moltuva from taking over Exoplanet,” Junmyeon said as Luhan moved the dark-blue headband around his head.

Tao stared at the black mark on Luhan’s forehead. There were seven circles placed in a formation that resembled two diamonds lying next to each other. Lines connected the center circle with each of the other circles in a simple, yet sophisticated way.

“That’s not a tattoo, by the way,” Junmyeon clarified just as the idea ran through Tao’s mind. “He was born with that, just like how I was born with this.”

He lifted the bottom of his shirt to reveal a muscled stomach. A few centimeters above Junmyeon’s navel was a black mark in the shape of a water droplet. A few lines crossed through the mark, and a circle laid in the center of the fat end of the drop.

As Tao examined it, Luhan fixed his headband and said, “We’re not the only ones with marks like these, you know.”

“Who else has them?”

“Ten other people on this planet.” Luhan patted his hair back into place before looking Tao dead in the eye. “And one of them is you.”

Nobody spoke as Tao stared between Luhan and Junmyeon with a look of surprise. Then, Tao scoffed loudly, crossing his arms disbelievingly over his chest.

“Ha ha,” Tao snorted sarcastically, “Very funny.”

“It wasn’t a joke!” Luhan yelped, getting to his feet with a scowl on his face.

Tao looked at Junmyeon, expecting the latter to admit that Luhan was just kidding around. However, the mercenary was disappointed and not pleased to see the other man give him an uncomfortable and apologetic look.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Tao snapped, rubbing the back of his neck in exasperation, “I don’t even have…a mark…”

The fingers running over the smooth skin on the back of his neck slowed as long-forgotten memories surfaced.

Five-year-old Tao sat in the wooden tub as his adoptive mother lathered his hair with soap. Her deft fingers gently ran through his hair, washing out the weeks’ worth of dirt and grime from the black locks. He felt her stop at the back of his neck, pausing over something imprinted there. Her soft voice asked him about a weird mark there, and Tao replied that he didn’t know what she was talking about.

Tao was brought out of his memoir by a shuffling sound. He was met with Junmyeon bringing a small mirror from the depths of a bag. The shorter beckoned for Tao to lean down, which Tao reluctantly did. Junmyeon held the mirror behind Tao so that Tao could see the back of his neck reflected in the glass.

Sure enough, there was a black mark. It was shaped as two triangles connected by a corner. The top triangle was half-filled, and the bottom triangle had a vertical line through it, as though depicting something falling into it. It reminded Tao of an hourglass.

Tao rubbed the mark with shaky fingers, horror growing in the pits of his stomach. The mark wasn’t going away no matter how hard he scraped at it. By the time Junmyeon grabbed his hand and forced him to stop, the skin was already turning pink.

“Don’t,” the shorter male advised, “It’s not going to come off.”

Dropping his head into his hands with a sigh, Tao murmured, “How do you even know about this?”

Junmyeon reached into his bag again and pulled out a small book. He flipped it open and handed it to Tao.

Twelve symbols were spread out in a neat circle across two pages. Tao recognized Luhan’s, Junmyeon’s, and even his own symbols from the twelve. He scanned over the nine unfamiliar ones, briefly glancing at the unicorn head and the snowflake before his eyes focused on the drawing in the center.

A simple tree was sketched in the middle of the circle formed by the twelve symbols. The branches were curved strangely in a manner that an actual tree would not grow in. They bent every which way to connect all twelve symbols to the tree.

“This is part of a decades-old prophecy,” Junmyeon explained, “The elves in Atheria recorded it in art immediately after the planet gave them the vision. A Moltuvian spy had stolen it a few years after it was written, but Luhan and I managed to steal it from the king before we escaped.”

“What’s the prophecy?” Tao asked, his stomach sinking deeper and deeper with every second that passed.

“Moltuva would go to war with the other countries, and the twelve of us would have to stop the planet from succumbing to darkness.”

_The twelve of us_ , Tao repeated to himself. He was already considered a part of the group, even though he hadn’t agreed to be one of them. Unfortunately, if the prophecy was true, then he had no choice unless he wanted to watch Exoplanet fall to Moltuva.

Who was he kidding? The elves were never wrong.

Suddenly, Luhan was sitting next to him on the bed. “We just want to let you know that we’re not going to force you to believe any of this. It would be better if you choose to believe what we tell you of your own accord. But just know that if you decide to believe us and come with us as we try to find the others, we would really appreciate it. _Exoplanet_ would appreciate it.”

Junmyeon and Luhan gathered their things but left the elves’ book with Tao. “If you want to look through that, go ahead. We will take it back tomorrow since we need it to find the remaining people. Good night.”

With that, the two were gone, leaving the Elven book with a stricken Tao, who didn’t move from his position, sitting like a statue on the bed.


	4. On the Border

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Chanyeol has joined the picture! :D Hope you guys enjoy reading this, and thank you for all the comments you've given me so far *o*
> 
> 'Til next chapter <3

 

Tao didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up the next morning with a crick in his neck. The Elven book that Junmyeon and Luhan left him was lying open next to him, pages surprisingly unwrinkled from Tao’s arm resting on them. He rolled over, taking his arm off the book, and massaged his neck, hissing at the throbbing pain.

The mercenary slowly sat up, careful not to move his head too suddenly. He glanced at the book and gently pulled it closer.

A symbol resembling a winged serpent stared back up at him. Tao remembered seeing the symbol last night before he fell asleep. Continuing from where he left off, Tao turned the page, surveying the bird symbol. There was writing underneath that Tao couldn’t read, so he assumed that it was Elvish.

There was a knock at his door. Tao quickly shut the book and stuffed it under his pillow as Hiro entered. Upon seeing Tao’s scandalized look, the butler bowed and made to leave the room.

“My apologies, Master Tao. If now is not a good time, I can come back later.”

Tao swiftly schooled his expression. “Oh, no. It’s alright,” he said before Hiro could shut the door, “What is it?”

The butler stepped fully into the room and shut the door behind him. Only then did Tao notice the clothes hanging off Hiro’s arm.

Hiro noticed Tao’s curious look and carefully placed the garments on the bed. “The Lady has instructed me to give you these. It is part of your payment for helping to protect the village.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an embroidered, purple bag. “Here are the coins, sir.”

The pouch of coins went on top of the folded pile of clothes. Hiro straightened up. “Masters Junmyeon and Luhan are having breakfast downstairs. They wish to speak with you as soon as possible.”

Tao’s stomach did a flip. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to face Junmyeon and Luhan yet. They would expect him to give an answer. An answer that he didn’t have yet.

He dismissed Hiro and reached under his pillow for the book.

Suddenly, images began to flash through his head. He was in a different room, one that he did not recognize. The walls were made of a light-colored wood, and a weak beam of light entered through a small window in the wall.

A man sat in front of a table, scribbling furiously in a book. Cautiously, Tao approached him, not sure if he was friendly or hostile. The mercenary’s eyes fell on the book and widened as he took in the familiar symbol the man had drawn. Then, Tao raised his eyes and noticed the pointy ear sticking out from the man’s hair. An elf.

He was staring at the person who wrote the book.

Just as abruptly as the vision had come, they left. Tao blinked in confusion, finding himself back in his room in the Jungs’ mansion.

Tao hissed as he became aware of the burning feeling on the back of his neck. Tentatively, he raised his hand and felt the skin, running his calloused fingers over the warm lines of his mark. Without anyone saying, Tao knew.

He had just used his power.

A voice in his head told him that Junmyeon and Luhan had been telling the truth.

Tao knew what he had to do now. He didn’t like it, but he had no other choice.

He took off his old, dirtied clothes and picked up the ones that Hiro left. The shirt was a solid, dark-blue color, and when Tao put it on, he realized that the material it was made of was stretchy. The black pants were the same way, and both pieces of clothing were neither too tight nor too loose.

Carrying his small bag of belongings, Tao headed downstairs into the dining room, book in one hand and old clothes in the other. Junmyeon and Luhan were sitting next to each other at the table, conversing quietly about something. They looked up as Tao entered and greeted him with smiles. Tao could see the hope on their faces, even though he figured that they were probably trying to hide how much they wanted him to join them.

Wordlessly, Tao walked over to Junmyeon and held out the book. He waited for Junmyeon’s and Luhan’s faces to fall as they assumed that he was not going with them.

“So what’s the plan?”

Junmyeon’s head snapped up so fast that, for a second, Tao was worried the shorter male would give himself whiplash. Luhan stopped chewing on his scrambled eggs, staring at Tao with owlish eyes. Then, he hurriedly swallowed and asked hoarsely, “You mean…you’re coming with us?”

Tao had barely nodded before two solid objects collided with him, knocking the breath out of his lungs and sending the mercenary tumbling to the floor. He yelped in pain as the back of his head smacked the wooden floor, struggling to recover the air that Junmyeon and Luhan were currently squeezing out of him as they hugged him tightly.

“Thank you so much!” Luhan cried, “We’re one step closer to saving the world now!”

“Can’t…breath,” Tao wheezed desperately, hands scrabbling at Junmyeon’s and Luhan’s arms.

“Sorry.” Junmyeon let go and the three of them got to their feet. “Are you sure you want to come? We’re going to be doing a lot of traveling, and it’s not going to be easy.”

“Do you not want me to come anymore?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. I just…!”

“Don’t mind Junmyeon. He gets chatty when he’s happy,” Luhan chimed in with a smirk. Junmyeon covered his face in embarrassment but he was smiling, too.

In just under an hour, Tao found himself ushered outside by Junmyeon and Luhan. They waved goodbye to Hiro, who was seeing them off, and headed down the street towards the west.

“Junmyeon and I already went to Bolvaria and Cassius,” Luhan told Tao as they walked down the road together, “We’re thinking of heading through Dalgu to Sinseye next.”

“Are you guys planning to do all this traveling on foot?” Tao prayed that they would say no. He was used to walking everywhere, but that was only within Halwen. Moving from country to country without horses would be torture.

Luckily, Luhan and Junmyeon had similar thoughts. “We asked around, and there are horse-sellers near the border between Halwen and Dalgu. We’ll be getting horses there.”

“Why didn’t you two get horses while you were in Bolvaria or Cassius?”

“Cassius is a desert country; it doesn’t have horses,” Junmyeon pointed out, “And Bolvaria is too close to Moltuva. We didn’t feel comfortable stopping for more than a rest.”

“Okay,” Tao said slowly, “What are we going to do after we get our horses?”

“Well, Luhan already said we were going to go to Sinseye, but after that, we don’t have much of a plan,” Junmyeon admitted, “We need to find the rest of people for the prophecy first, but we have no idea where they are.”

Tao thought he saw Luhan shoot Junmyeon a strange look but didn’t dwell on it. “So you’re just going to travel to every country until you find everyone?”

“Luckily, Junmyeon thought of a better way,” Luhan smirked, “Instead of us combing entire countries for the others, we’ll go to the capital cities of each country and ask around. The noblemen tend to hear lots of rumors, so they’ll be the ones to know if unusual things have happened.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then that most likely means the person is trying to lay low, so we search the more isolated places in that country. It’s how we found you.”

Tao considered the idea. He didn’t think it was bad, but there were still loopholes. What if the person wasn’t aware that they were part of a prophecy? What if the symbol was somewhere where it couldn’t be seen easily? They couldn’t go around asking people to take off their clothes in order to check for a strange symbol.

Luhan must have sensed Tao’s hesitation because he clapped Tao on the shoulder and said, “It’s the best we can do for now, so just bear with it, please.”

By the time they arrived at a city near the border, the sun had already set. However, lights from lanterns and houses lit up the still-crowded streets as Junmyeon, Luhan, and Tao tiredly pushed their way through the mass of people, searching for an inn. After several minutes, they finally found one and eagerly went in to rent rooms.

“Shouldn’t we just get one room to save money?” Tao inquired after hearing Junmyeon ask for two rooms.

“You want one room?” Junmyeon asked, surprised, “I thought you might like your own room since you just met us yesterday and might not be comfortable sharing with us.”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. I can share,” Tao said quickly, taking out the pouch of coins that the Jungs had given him, “Let me pay some of the cost.”

“Too late,” Junmyeon said, having already handed over the money for one room. Tao frowned as he tucked the purple bag away, following the innkeeper as she led them upstairs to their room.

The room wasn’t small, but it obviously wasn’t made to accommodate three people. There were only two beds, pushed to separate corners of the room. A table sat between them, but there was no chair in sight. Instead, a candelabrum with three branches, each holding a candle, stood on the piece of furniture. The candles were unlit, but as the three men surveyed the room, the innkeeper walked over and lit the candles.

“I apologize for how small the room is,” the innkeeper said, bowing slightly, “The rooms are built to have only two people.”

Junmyeon and Luhan reassured her that it was perfectly okay with them. Tao walked over to the window, peering down at the noisy crowd that was still out on the streets. The innkeeper must have seen him looking.

“It’s always noisy here. The people love to celebrate, and today happens to be the city’s birthday,” she explained. Suddenly, a loud crack outside made Tao jump and scream.

Colorful sparks littered the air outside as the crowd cheered. Tao watched as someone pulled out a cylindrical object, lighting one end on fire. The tiny firework shot through the air, exploding in a shower of bright green lights. More fireworks were ignited, and soon, the streets were covered in blue, green, red, and gold.

The innkeeper excused herself, handed Junmyeon the room key, and headed back downstairs. Luhan practically threw himself onto one of the beds, sighing in satisfaction. Junmyeon placed his bag on the second bed and beckoned to Tao.

“You can share with me,” Junmyeon offered, “Luhan doesn’t like having anyone else on his bed.”

“Sure.” Tao dropped his things next to Junmyeon’s. “Are we staying in here or are we going to go outside?”

“You two can go and party,” Luhan groaned from his bed, “I think I’m going to sleep.”

“Want us to bring you back anything?” Junmyeon asked as he checked to make sure he had the key and money bag on him.

“Some food would be nice.” Luhan’s words were slurred as he was already beginning to slip into the dregs of sleep.

Tao and Junmyeon made their way outside and almost immediately got swept up with the crowd. Instinctively, Tao seized Junmyeon’s arm, preventing the two from getting separated. When the crowd briefly thinned, Tao tugged Junmyeon closer before people began pushing in from all sides again.

“You’re so lucky you’re tall,” Junmyeon wheezed, clinging onto Tao’s shirt for dear life, “I feel suffocated.”

“It might be too late for you to grow taller,” Tao joked, earning himself a light punch to the side.

The two of them walked around, observing the dancing people and fireworks. Junmyeon stopped at several food stands, buying an assortment of snacks for himself, Tao, and Luhan. He and Tao ate as they strolled down the street, and Luhan’s share was wrapped carefully in the paper that came with the food. Tao happily traded some copper coins for a handful of fireworks and matches, and he and Junmyeon joined the group of people brightening the sky with colorful stars.

By the time the two made their way back to the inn, the moon was climbing high into the sky. Upon entering, Tao nearly bumped into somebody. The other person skittered back slightly with a surprised exclamation.

“Sorry!” The tall, red-haired man said, “You didn’t get any water on you, right?”

Tao glanced down, seeing the bucket of water that the other carried in his hands. Coils of steam rose from the liquid, and Tao was glad he didn’t stumble into the person.

“I’m alright,” Tao reassured the other man, who looked worried.

Relief spread across the latter’s face. “Oh, thank the Planet,” he sighed, “I don’t know what I’d do if you got burned.”

“Aren’t your hands burned though?” Junmyeon asked curiously, reaching over and placing a hand cautiously on the edge of the bucket. “Ah!” he yelped, jerking back and holding his hand against his chest protectively.

The man laughed. “I’m not very sensitive to heat, so I’m okay.” He shifted the bucket and exposed a bit of his hand. “See?”

Tao and Junmyeon leaned forward slightly, observing the unharmed skin with awe. After a few seconds of letting them gawk, the man adjusted his grip on the bucket.

“I should go now. The missus will wonder what’s taking me so long. I’ll see you around!” He smiled at the two and ducked out the door, disappearing from view.

Tao and Junmyeon made their way back to the room. Junmyeon unlocked the door, and the two of them filed inside. The shorter headed over to where Luhan lay, still fast asleep. He shook the other awake and handed him the lukewarm food that he and Tao had bought. Luhan grunted his thanks and began gnawing on a chicken kebob.

“I want to take a bath,” Tao mumbled, running a hand through his hair and feeling the oily strands, “I’m going to ask the innkeeper where the baths are.”

“Here.” Junmyeon held out his hand, the brass key dangling from his fingers. “Take the key with you.”

Tao took the key and headed downstairs. The innkeeper was nowhere to be seen, so Tao decided to look around a bit. Maybe the man he met earlier worked here and knew where the baths were. Tao could only hope that he was still around.

He hesitantly peered through the doorway that the tall man had disappeared through earlier. For a brief moment, Tao was relieved to see the man crouching in front of a fireplace, but the relief quickly turned into shock when he realized that the man was emitting fire from his hands.

Tao didn’t know if he made a noise or not, but he must have because the man stood and spun abruptly. The man’s eyes widened with surprise and fear when he saw Tao, and he immediately dispelled the flames, but the damage was already done.

Tao didn’t know what to do, but before he could react, the man stepped forward, a desperate glint in his eyes.

“Please don’t tell anyone!” he begged.

“I…” Tao began, but the other cut him off, clearly panicking.

“Please, no one can know about this! I’m not dangerous, I swear. I’ve had this…this thing since I was born, and I swear I can control it. Just don’t tell anyone, or they’ll get scared and chase me out. Please, I’ll do anything!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Tao repeated, hands raised in surrender, “I’m not going to turn you in.”

The man with fire clearly relaxed. “Really?” he asked hopefully.

Tao looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to eavesdrop. When he didn’t see a soul in sight, Tao pushed his way into the room and led the other to a corner away from the door.

Lowering his voice, Tao asked, “You said you had this power since you were born?”

“I…yeah.” The other was taken aback by Tao’s question but answered honestly nonetheless. “My parents kicked me out a few years ago because of it, and I ended up here because I owe the innkeeper some money.”

He would have kept on rambling if Tao hadn’t interrupted. “Do you have anything else besides your power?”

When the man looked confused, Tao elaborated. “Like, a symbol anywhere on your body?”

The other hesitated. “I have one. On my foot?”

“May I see it?” Tao asked as gently as possible, hoping that the man wouldn’t get scared off.

Luckily, the man didn’t panic anymore even though it was obvious he thought Tao was weird. He took off his left shoe and lifted his foot, showing off the black marking on the bottom. It wasn’t difficult for Tao to recognize it. He had stared at the symbol in the book for several minutes earlier that day, memorizing the avian form of it.

This man was a part of the prophecy.

Tao wanted to get Junmyeon and Luhan and show them the symbol, but the man was still scared that Tao might reveal his ability to manipulate fire, so Tao did what he thought would help gain the man’s trust.

He turned around and pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing the hourglass mark on the back of his neck. Tao heard the man suck in a sharp breath, obviously not expecting Tao to show a symbol as well.

“You’re like me?” Tao heard him whisper.

“I am.” Tao covered his symbol once more and faced the other again. “Well, not exactly. I apparently have the power to control time, but unlike you, I have no idea how to use my power.”

“Wow.” The red-haired man looked to be at a loss for words.

“The man I was with earlier,” Tao started carefully, watching the man’s face for any sign of a bad reaction, “He also has a symbol like us. It’s on his stomach. We have a third, who has a symbol on his forehead.”

He paused, letting the other absorb the information. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to introduce you to them.”

“Are they going to expose me?” the other blurted out, folding his hands together nervously.

“I’ll make sure they won’t,” Tao promised, and he was certain that Luhan and Junmyeon wouldn’t harm the red-haired man.

“Then, I…yeah, ok. I’ll meet them.”

“Wait here. I’ll go get them.” Tao stood and made his way out into the hall but stopped in the doorway. He turned to the man and asked, “I’m Tao. What’s your name?”

The red-haired man looked at him, and Tao could see the uncertainty, fear, and hope swimming in the man’s eyes. He felt a rush of empathy, remembering how he had felt the same way when Junmyeon and Luhan first introduced their powers and the prophecy to him. However, he was lucky to not even know he had powers. This man, on the other hand, tried to hide his ability and lived in fear that he would be outed and ostracized.

“Chanyeol,” the man said, deep voice interrupting Tao’s thoughts.

“It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol,” Tao replied genuinely, “I will be right back.” With that, he went back to the lobby and headed upstairs to the room, calling for Junmyeon and Luhan.


	5. Lighting the Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol has agreed to join! Who do you guys think is next?
> 
> 'Til next chapter!

“It’s nice to meet you.” Junmyeon smiled, holding his hand out for Chanyeol to shake.

The tall, red-haired man shyly took Junmyeon’s hand. Junmyeon looked startled, glancing down at their joined hands.

“Your hands are really warm,” the water user commented.

Chanyeol laughed a little. “It’s the fire,” he explained.

“It’s not burning hot, is it?” Luhan asked, peering over Junmyeon’s shoulder curiously, “I have to introduce myself next, and I don’t want to get my hand roasted.”

Chanyeol’s laugh was more relaxed now, and he held out a hand for Luhan. “Want to feel for yourself?”

Luhan smiled and clasped Chanyeol’s hand. “Name’s Luhan.”

“Chanyeol. Tao mentioned that you two have marks.” Chanyeol lowered his voice at the question as a pair of guests walked past the room, chattering loudly about fireworks.

Junmyeon ushered the group away from the doorway. The four of them settled down at a table near the fireplace. Tao noticed that Junmyeon had brought his bag, which most likely contained the Elven book.

“Would you mind showing us your mark, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon inquired kindly, placing his bag on the table.

“Show me yours first,” Chanyeol challenged.

Without hesitation, Junmyeon lifted his shirt, revealing the water drop on his stomach. Luhan took off his headband to show his symbol. Chanyeol paused, eyes shifting between the two, before taking off his shoe and raising his foot to display the bird on the bottom of it.

The three of them stared at each other for a moment before slowly covering their marks again. “Do you know what your mark stands for, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon asked softly.

“No,” Chanyeol admitted as the four of them sat down at the table, “My parents hated it, and I haven’t heard about anyone else having a mark until now.”

“What did your parents do when they saw it?”

“They never talked about it with me.” Chanyeol stared down at his hands as though he was ashamed to admit that his parents didn’t like him because of his powers. “They also banned me from using fire, but I would sneak off and practice with it in secret. Then, they just kicked me out about three or four years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon said regretfully. Luhan leaned across the table and gave Chanyeol a reassuring pat on the arm.

“It’s not your fault,” Chanyeol sighed, “And I’ve been over it for a while now. The innkeeper, Miss Choi, acts more like a mom than my real mother ever did.”

“How did you end up here though? Did you know Miss Choi before you came here?”

“No, actually. I was born and raised in southern Halwen, and I walked all the way here after they kicked me out. Miss Choi saw me wandering the streets and took me in. I work for her now.” Despite the hardships in his early years, Chanyeol looked rather pleased with himself now. Tao found himself admiring the man, who was slightly taller than him to Tao’s chagrin.

“I see.” Tao was surprised to hear a slight strain in Junmyeon’s voice. Luhan also looked a little worried, but Chanyeol seemed oblivious to the sudden change in mood.

“So do you know anything about what these abilities and marks are for?” he asked, leaning forward slightly in anticipation.

Junmyeon reached inside his bag and pulled out the Elven book. Tao watched as the other flipped it open to a familiar page, asking Chanyeol if he had heard of the prophecy. He tuned out Junmyeon’s explanation in favor of observing Chanyeol’s reactions. Tao felt faintly amused as he watched Chanyeol’s eyes widen in awe. Then, the red-haired man’s mouth dropped open, and he emitted a soft exclamation of astonishment.

After listening to Junmyeon talk, Chanyeol asked about their powers. As a demonstration, Junmyeon summoned the water from a nearby pot, letting the clear liquid hang in the air for a moment before gently letting the water settle back. Luhan then lifted the entire pot from the table, sending it floating across the room once and then placing it back in its original spot.

Then, Chanyeol turned to Tao, who quickly shook his head. “I don’t have control over my power,” he repeated.

“What is your power though?” Chanyeol inquired curiously.

“According to the book, Tao’s symbol represents time, so maybe time control?” Junmyeon guessed, “Maybe you can stop time or see the future.”

Tao remembered the elf he saw in images that morning. “I-I think I had a vision this morning when I touched that book.” He pointed to the Elven book lying innocently on the table. “I was in a wooden house, and there was an elf writing in that book. I think I went to the past.”

He paused to see the other three staring at him with jaws unhinged. “You didn’t mention this earlier,” Luhan accused, lips curling into a small pout.

“Sorry,” Tao apologized.

“So Tao can see something’s history when he touches the object?” Junmyeon muttered. He grabbed his bag and held it out to Tao. “Touch it and see if you get a vision.”

Uncertainly, Tao reached out and grasped the tough cloth, somewhat anticipating another flood of images to invade his mind, but nothing happened.

Baffled, Tao looked up to see the eager faces of his companions, who were waiting for him to tell them what he saw. The impatience in their eyes turned into confusion when Tao told them that nothing happened.

Junmyeon held his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead tiredly. Luhan tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times as he contemplated the lack of response from Junmyeon’s bag.

“Maybe it only happens sometimes,” Chanyeol ventured, “I mean, if he had visions of every object he touched, wouldn’t that be annoying?”

Luhan looked like he agreed with Chanyeol, nodding slowly to the red-haired man’s statement.

“I suppose that’s true,” Junmyeon admitted. He leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh as he relaxed. “If you happen to have any other visions, let us know, okay?”

Tao nodded, and Junmyeon turned back to Chanyeol.

“What do you think, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon gestured at the Elven book, “I’ve told you everything I could think of. Do you have any questions?”

“Well, no.” Chanyeol ran both hands through his hair in an agitated way, “It’s just a lot to take in at once.”

“I understand.” Junmyeon nodded. “You need time to think it through, and we’ll be glad to give you time. The original plan was to leave tomorrow morning, but we can push it back by…two days maximum?” He looked at Luhan for confirmation, and the latter shrugged and nodded.

“How did they convince you?” Chanyeol turned to Tao, “You just met them two days ago, but you already decided to go with them?”

“Well, they showed me the book, and I had that vision when I touched it this morning. I guess that’s what convinced me.” Tao touched the back of his neck, where he knew his mark was sitting.

Chanyeol groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. “I want to go with you guys,” he began hesitantly, “I really do. I feel like I belong. But I can’t just up and leave Miss Choi. She’ll be the only one running this inn, and I owe her because she took me off the streets.”

“Miss Choi will be in danger if Moltuva takes over Halwen. The Moltuvian army left no one alive in Leilan. They might decide to kill everyone here, too,” Luhan pointed out, albeit a little tactlessly. Junmyeon shot him a warning glance, although Chanyeol didn’t seem to be affected by Luhan’s words.

“She’ll be fine if I’m around to protect her, won’t she?” Chanyeol reasoned, “I can use my fire to fight Moltuva while she gets to safety, right?”

Technically, Chanyeol was right. Tao was disappointed since Chanyeol seemed as though he wasn’t going to come with them. Junmyeon seemed to think the same because he took the book back and resignedly said, “If you choose not to come, we will not force you. If you’re going to help us, we want it to be of your own volition.”

Luhan stared incredulously at Junmyeon, as though he couldn’t believe what the other was saying. Even though Tao expected Junmyeon to assume that Chanyeol was not going to join them, he had expected the former Moltuvian soldier to try harder to persuade the red-haired man. His disillusionment was only amplified when Chanyeol didn’t say anything back, choosing to stare down at his hands while he played with the edge of his shirt.

“Is that all you have to say?”

The female voice made all four of them jump in their seats. Simultaneously, they spun around to stare at the innkeeper, who was standing in the doorway with a frown on her face.

Tao glanced at Chanyeol, who looked absolutely terrified. The fire man nervously looked from Miss Choi’s face to the floor to Junmyeon and back to the innkeeper. Junmyeon and Luhan, like Tao, were at a loss for words, uncertain as to how much Miss Choi had heard.

“I heard everything,” she said, taking in the looks of shock. Her gaze rested on Junmyeon, and she pursed her lips into a frown. “I am rather disappointed though.”

Without waiting for a response from the four, she jabbed her finger at Junmyeon. “You’re just going to let him go? Let him slip away when you’ve had him in your hands?”

Junmyeon sputtered incomprehensively, but Miss Choi ignored him and addressed the three members of the group. “If you’re going to save the world, I suggest you toughen up and stop being such pushovers!”

Tao was dumbstruck. Like the others, he had expected the innkeeper to react negatively, yet the things she was saying made him hope that she was supporting them.

Chanyeol must have felt the same way because after making a series of strange noises, he choked out a surprised, “What?”

Miss Choi sighed, and her demeanor softened. “I think you should go, Chanyeol,” she said gently.

The red-haired man looked at the innkeeper with an unreadable expression. “You…don’t hate me?” he asked slowly.

“You have given me no reason to hate you.” Miss Choi smiled reassuringly. “To be honest, I had an inkling that there was something you weren’t telling me. Nobody can start a fire in almost an instant, and you never used any of the matches next to the stove.”

Tao released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Chanyeol was lucky – so lucky – that the lady wasn’t like his parents, who held Chanyeol’s power of fire against him. Judging by Chanyeol’s teary eyes, the man knew he was lucky. He hid his face in his hands, but Tao could still see the moisture that ran down his cheeks.

As though she knew that Chanyeol was crying, Miss Choi moved to the young man’s side and wrapped her arms around him. She held him in a comforting embrace, letting him silently sob into her shirt and gently patting him on the back as he did so.

Tao, Junmyeon, and Luhan looked away out of politeness, feeling as though they shouldn’t intrude on the moment even though all three of them hoped that Miss Choi would convince Chanyeol to leave with them.

It wasn’t long before Chanyeol could speak clearly. “How much did you hear?” he asked, mopping his eyes with his arm and sniffling a little.

“Since you told them about how you ended up here in this shabby inn,” Miss Choi joked, “I’m happy you think so highly of me though.”

Chanyeol looked embarrassed for a moment, but the innkeeper ignored it and kept talking. “As I was saying, I think you should go, Chanyeol.”

“Why?”

“Because the book,” she tilted her head towards the book that Junmyeon had set back on the table, “is clearly made by elves, and everyone knows the elves don’t play around. The prophecy must be true, so it’s a good idea for you to stick with the rest of the Exo members.” She turned to Junmyeon. “That’s what you call yourselves, right? Exo?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Junmyeon confirmed.

“But if I leave, who’s going to protect you if Moltuva tries to take over Halwen?” Chanyeol protested.

“You forget that Halwen as an army that’s perfectly capable of protecting its citizens,” Miss Choi pointed out, “I’d say we have a pretty good chance of beating Moltuva back if they come knocking.”

Chanyeol bit his bottom lip, still not entirely convinced.

“Besides, I can always pack up and leave for another country if Halwen falls to Moltuva,” Miss Choi continued, “I have two working legs, so I’m pretty sure I can make it to Dalgu or somewhere else easily.”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything.

“And if you somehow get killed trying to protect me,” she stated lowly, “then we’re down a warrior and Moltuva will have a greater chance of winning.” She leaned forward, meeting Chanyeol’s gaze with her own. “Go with them, Chanyeol. They need you more than I do.”

For a moment, Chanyeol looked as though he was about to cry again, but instead, he looked away from the innkeeper and stared down at his hands.

“Please come with us, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon tried to persuade the fire user once more, “We need you.”

 _Just say you’ll come with us already!_ Tao silently screamed at Chanyeol. He could tell the man was pretty much convinced now, but something was holding him back from saying yes. Junmyeon was about to give Chanyeol another push, but the latter suddenly shifted in his seat and massaged his forehead.

“I’ll go,” Chanyeol said with a sigh, “I’ll leave with you guys tomorrow morning, but I have no idea what I need to bring.”

Junmyeon beamed. “Great! Have you ever traveled long-distance before?”

“No, I haven’t,” Chanyeol admitted, “Is it difficult?”

“It is at first,” Junmyeon agreed, “But you gradually get used to it. I can help you with packing if you need help.”

“That would be nice.”

“Tao and I will be waiting for you in our room,” Luhan told the departing Junmyeon, who nodded his assent. Chanyeol anxiously asked Junmyeon about tomorrow morning as he led the shorter man down the hall to his room. Their voices eventually faded as they rounded a corner.

Miss Choi turned to Tao and Luhan. “Please take care of him. He has never left this city since he came here, so he knows nothing about what’s out there.”

“We will, ma’am,” Luhan promised, “Chanyeol is one of us, and we will look after each other.”

Reassured, the innkeeper smiled and bid the two of them good night. They went their separate ways: Miss Choi walking off in the same direction that Chanyeol and Junmyeon had gone, and Tao followed Luhan back upstairs.

It wasn’t until Tao retrieved the room key from his pocket that he remembered why he had left the room in the first place.

“I still need to take a bath!”


	6. Journey

 

The village had been reduced to nothing but a pile of smoldering ash, burning wood, and dead bodies. The black dragon let out a thunderous roar as he glided over the flaming houses, releasing a stream of blue fire from his mouth. With a heavy thump, the great reptile landed on the dry grass, folding in his jet-black wings and swinging his head around to survey the surroundings.

A hollow thunk attracted the dragon’s attention, and he whipped his head around to see a man clambering out from underneath a fallen house. The man stumbled around a little, coughing as he cleared smoke from his lungs. It only took a moment for the man to finally see the piercing, ice-blue eyes of the dragon and freeze.

For a long moment, dragon and man stared at each other. The dragon had orders to kill everyone, and he couldn’t afford to make an exception for this survivor. He had no choice but to kill him too, and he needed to do it quickly. He was running out of time.

The dragon approached the man, who glanced nervously and fearfully from the beast to the ruined house. Once the reptile was within three feet from him, the man bent down and hastily grabbed a broken spear from the ground, holding the weapon in front of him in an attempt to deter the dragon.

It was too easy. The dragon raised a claw and sent the spear spinning out of the man’s hand. The man let out a yelp, and the dragon took the chance to pin him to the ground, making sure his target couldn’t wriggle out from underneath his foot. A low growl rumbled in his throat, and a flash of blue sparked in his mouth, but before the dragon could make the killing blow, a high-pitched cry came from the rubble of the house.

“Dad?”

The man looked as though the world had just ended, squeezing his eyes shut with a look of pain on his face. With a start, the dragon moved his attention from the man to the house, staring intensely at the pile of ruined wood.

The voice came again, calling in the same frightened tone. “Dad? What’s going on?”

The man was sobbing now, but his voice remained steady as he spoke to his daughter. “Everything’s okay, sweetie. Everything’s going to be okay.”

This situation was not new to the dragon. He had killed families before, setting people on fire and hearing their screams of pain and grief eventually die as they crumpled to the floor in a charred mess. Yet he lifted his foot off the man currently at his mercy and backed away, choosing to let the latter go.

Again, man and dragon stared at each other until the dragon looked away and spread his wings. With graceful ease, the reptile lifted itself into the smoky air and flew away without looking back.

Flying fast in the south-southeast direction, the dragon reached his destination with a little time to spare. Black smoke enveloped the entire beast seconds before he landed on the marble deck. The ball of smoke condensed, and the dragon disappeared to be replaced by a tall man with windswept hair who stepped lightly onto the smooth, black floor. The guards stationed at various positions around the deck narrowed their slitted eyes at him, and some hissed distastefully. Crooked, yellowing fangs flashed in the torch-lit corridor as the orcs bared their teeth at him. There were no human guards.

As the man reached the end of the corridor and entered a great hall, he saw the throne at the opposite end of the room. An obsidian skull was placed on top of the cathedra.

The black-haired man with broad shoulders sitting on the throne stood up as the dragon-man approached. “Yifan,” he said with his arms spread wide, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “Good to see you’re back in one piece.”

Yifan knew the other was merely playing with him, and from past experience, also knew that it would be best to play along. He bowed his head slightly, looking away from the cold, black eyes to stare at the stone floor. “Your Highness,” he murmured with gritted teeth.

The king scoffed lightly and stood up. “You need to work on that sincerity of yours, Yifan,” he said lightly, but his tone masked a threat, “But no matter. We have something more important to discuss.”

As he spoke, the king slowly walked down the steps that were laid out in front of his throne. He moved closer to Yifan, soulless eyes fixed on the latter’s face. Circling the taller man like a wolf eyeing its prey, the king of Moltuva took his time in talking, and Yifan knew he was really angry.

“My sources have told me that you have done something rather…surprising today,” the king drawled, “Would you like to explain, dragon?”

Yifan swallowed. “It was a lapse in judgment, Your Highness.”

“Ah,” the king sighed, raising his eyebrows in mock revelation, “And I suppose this… _lack of judgment_ is why you disobeyed my order? Such a shame, Yifan. I taught you better than that.”

“It will not happen again, Your Highness.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will not.” The king waved his hand casually. “There will have to be a punishment, unfortunately. I must make sure you know the errors of your ways.”

Dread filled the pit of Yifan’s stomach. “I will take the punishment, Your Highness,” he offered, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice, “Whatever it is, I will take it.”

The next thing Yifan knew, his head was turned to the side and stinging pain was stabbing into his right cheek. Slowly, he touched the area, drawing his hand away to see dark red blood staining his fingers. A black blade that was previously hidden underneath the king’s robe was now jutting out over the back of the man’s hand. Yifan’s blood stained the tip of the weapon and dripped onto the floor.

“You are going to let that scar,” the king hissed venomously, “It will be a reminder of what will happen if you make any more mistakes.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Yifan said carefully, although he was still slightly shocked.

The king opened his mouth to say more, but he was interrupted by the creaking of a door. A short man with burnt-orange hair had pushed open the door behind the throne and stepped into the room. He stopped a few feet away from them and bowed his head.

“Your Highness, the battle is over. We have won.”

The king lowered his arm, and the sleeve of his robe fell over the bloody blade. “I see. Any word from my spy in Sinseye?”

“There has been news that caught his interest, and he is going to investigate before giving a full report.”

“Very well then. You are dismissed, Minseok.” The king inclined his head towards Yifan. “Take him with you.”

Minseok bowed again and gently grasped Yifan by the elbow, leading the taller man out of the throne room. The two of them silently walked down the flight of stairs, passing orc guards who sneered and growled at them. It wasn’t until they were a good distance away from the throne room that Minseok spoke up.

“What happened to you?”

“I let a man and his child go,” Yifan answered quietly.

Minseok sighed as the two of them stopped in front of a wooden door with a snowflake engraved on it. The shorter pushed the door open and walked in. Yifan followed him and shivered at the chill in the room. Minseok’s room was kept at a cooler temperature than the rest of the castle since the man had an affinity towards ice, but Yifan always avoided going into Minseok’s room. His dragon disagreed with the cold.

Minseok sat Yifan down on the bed and carefully examined the gash on Yifan’s cheek, which was still oozing blood. The taller man’s white robes were stained with red. Minseok stood and retrieved a wet cloth, dabbing carefully at the wound.

“He got you good this time,” Minseok murmured, gently blowing on the gash.

“He wants it to scar.” Yifan flinched when Minseok gave a rather sharp jab at the cut, to which the latter apologized for immediately.

After he finished cleaning the wound, Minseok tossed the bloodstained cloth onto a nearby table and placed one hand over the cut. Yifan felt his cheek growing colder and colder until he couldn’t feel any more pain. After leaving his hand there for another moment, Minseok pulled away. A thin sheet of ice was stretched over the gash, numbing the flesh and stopping the bleeding.

“It’ll melt off in a while. Don’t touch it,” Minseok said as he took the cloth to the bathroom and turned on the sink.

Yifan nodded and stood up. “Thanks.” Minseok didn’t reply, but Yifan knew he heard. The dragon-man made his way out the door and walked down the hall to his own room, which had a wooden door with a winged serpentine engraving.

Yifan pushed his way into his room and shut the door behind him. He immediately collapsed on the rickety bed that was pushed to one side, careful not to rub his cheek against the rough fabric. Exhaustion, both physical from the battle and mental from facing the king, caught up with him and latched onto his body. His eyelids grew heavy, but Yifan didn’t fight the weariness. Instead, he made himself comfortable on his left side and succumbed to slumber, facing another six hours of nightmarish sleep.

 

__________

Tao handed the merchant several gold coins and accepted the reins that the other handed him. He tugged softly on the leather straps, and the black horse whinnied but obediently walked to Tao side. The ex-mercenary patted the animal soothingly on the nose and glanced over at Chanyeol, who was still undecided between two horses. Tao approached the red-haired man and asked, “Can’t decide?”

Chanyeol pointed at the horse on the left and said, “Look at that brown. It’s just like chocolate ice cream.” Then, he swiveled his arm over to the cream-colored horse on the right. “And that horse looks so pretty. I don’t know which one to get.”

Tao held back a snort at Chanyeol’s reasoning. “Why don’t you flip a coin or something?” he suggested, “Heads for brown and tails for cream.”

The other hesitated, biting on his lower lip. “Actually, I think I’ll take this one.” He stepped forward and held out his hand for the cream-colored horse. The animal sniffed at Chanyeol’s hand and nudged it, and the Exo member rubbed the horse on the nose.

“You’re getting that one, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon walked up with Luhan and the merchant following him. Junmyeon led a smoky-gray mare, and Luhan was speaking softly with a burgundy horse, which tossed its head around, occasionally bumping heads with Luhan playfully.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol’s voice was more confident now, “I want this one.”

Junmyeon paid the merchant despite Chanyeol’s protests, and the four of them left the stables. Once on the road, they mounted their horses. The horses snorted at the sudden weight on their backs but did not try to throw any of them off. Junmyeon turned his horse around and lead the way towards Dalgu. Luhan followed closely, and Tao and Chanyeol brought up the rear.

Poor Chanyeol looked unsure of himself as he sat on the horse’s back. “I’ve never ridden a horse before,” he whispered nervously to Tao.”

“Oh, it’s easy,” Tao said, “Just relax and don’t nudge the horse’s sides unless –”

Unfortunately, Chanyeol’s feet accidentally brushed the sides of the horse at that moment, and the horse took it as a signal to start running. It wasn’t a fast pace, but it was enough to send Chanyeol into a panic.

“Hey, Chanyeol!” Junmyeon called when the red-haired man passed him to run ahead, “What’s the matter?”

“Make it stop!” Chanyeol shrieked, hugging the neck of his horse with both arms.

Junmyeon snapped his reins, and his horse broke into a run. “Pull on the reins, Chanyeol!” he yelled, “Pull on the reins and the horse will stop!”

Frantic, Chanyeol seized the leather strap and yanked. Startled the horse reared back with a neigh, throwing Chanyeol off its back and into the air. For a tense moment, it was certain that Chanyeol was going to land on the hard ground, but the man stopped centimeters from hitting the dirt.

An invisible force pushed Chanyeol back into an upright position and resettled him back on his horse. The fire user looked terrified, breathing heavily through his mouth as his eyes remained stretched wide from the realization that he nearly broke his neck.

Tao let out a breath of relief and looked over at Luhan. Sure enough, the mark hidden beneath the dark blue headband wrapped around the telekinetic’s forehead was glowing. Luhan hurried to catch up with Junmyeon and Chanyeol, and Tao quickly followed him, bending down to scoop up the bag Chanyeol had dropped earlier.

“Are you alright, Chanyeol?” Luhan asked worriedly, rubbing Chanyeol’s shoulder soothingly. “Are you hurt?”

“I –” Chanyeol fumbled with his words from shock, “I think I’m okay.” He patted himself on the back of the head and neck. “Yeah, I’m okay. Holy shit, Luhan, you saved my life!” he cried as he leaned over precariously and wrapped his arms around Luhan’s neck, hugging the life out of the shorter man.

As Luhan struggled to keep Chanyeol from falling off the horse again, Tao caught up to the rest of the group, brushing the dirt off Chanyeol’s bag.

Junmyeon heaved a sigh of relief. “You should have told us you didn’t know how to ride a horse,” he scolded Chanyeol, “What if you had gotten killed?”

“Sorry,” Chanyeol mumbled guiltily, releasing Luhan, who was gasping for breath.

“We’ll just have to teach him as we head to Zephyrgard,” Tao said, handing Chanyeol his bag, “Can’t have any more incidents of Chanyeol almost cracking his skull open before we find the remaining members.”

About half of the way to Zephyrgard was spent with Tao and Junmyeon riding on either side of Chanyeol and Luhan bringing up the rear just in case Chanyeol fell off his horse again. By the time they entered the capital of Dalgu, Chanyeol could be trusted to sit on the horse’s back and not come tumbling down because his horse was running too fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I decided to give you guys a bit more on Yifan's perspective this time. Judging by his actions here, what do you guys think about him and Minseok aiding Moltuva?
> 
> Poor Chanyeol didn't know how to ride a horse ;-;
> 
> 'Til next chapter <3


	7. Unveiled

 

Tao stared at the crowd around him, confused as to how he ended up here all of a sudden when he had just laid down on his bed in an inn at Zephyrgard. People milled about, talking to each other with confused voices. A line of soldiers stood in front of the crowd, blocking people from moving any further, and behind the soldiers was the gallows. Tao’s heart dropped upon seeing the rope that was already tied to a wooden support. The noose hung from the wood, swaying menacingly in the wind.

Suddenly, the metal gate behind the gallows opened with a hollow clang. Two soldiers walked out, dragging someone between them. Tao didn’t recognize the person as he scanned the ovular face, black hair, and thick bottom lip. The man was struggling against the soldiers, mouth moving to form words that Tao couldn’t discern.

Then, Tao noticed how well-dressed the man was. He wore a light-blue tunic with gold trimmings and black pants that stopped at his ankles. A golden bird was sewn onto one side of his tunic, and one wing and the head spread across the abdomen area.

Tao watched with curiosity as the soldiers pulled the man up onto the wooden platform. The man started fighting harder, struggling to free his arms from the soldiers’ tight grasp. Someone screamed next to Tao, and he stumbled and nearly fell when someone shoved past him forcefully, heading towards the gallows.

Tao looked up to see the back of someone’s head. This person was also dressed in fine clothing, except he had a fancy but short cloak attached to the back of his tunic. Tao didn’t need to be introduced to him to know he was a prince.

The prince tried to run past the line of soldiers, but they pushed him back. Tao watched as the prince yelled at the guards and continued trying to push his way through. The soldiers continued blocking him, refusing to obey whatever he was telling them.

Then, someone else pushed past Tao, and the ex-mercenary turned to see Junmyeon’s panicked expression. The water user was screaming at the top of his lungs as he pushed his way through the crowd. The man at the gallows turned and desperately lunged in Junmyeon’s direction, but the two guards yanked him back, pulling him closer towards the prepared noose. One of the guards reached for the rope and, with great effort, managed to loop it around the man’s neck.

Junmyeon became even more frantic, launching himself against the line of soldiers in an attempt to break through. Tao looked around and saw that Chanyeol had joined the prince and was arguing with a soldier. Out of the corner of his eye, Tao saw Luhan making his way through the crowd. However, the telekinetic wasn’t heading for the gallows.

Tao followed Luhan’s path and saw an older man sitting to the side. Aside from the fancy, white robes that he wore, the man also had a couple attendants standing next to him. Tao saw the golden crown lying on the graying hair. The man was a king.

As Tao watched, the king raised a hand and moved it downwards in a chopping motion. Then, everything went black, and Tao woke up in bed to see weak sunlight filtering into his room.

Luhan was still snoring, so Tao didn’t make any effort to get out of bed. Instead, he rolled over on his side, facing away from his roommate, and pondered the strange dream he had.

He didn’t recognize the setting of the dream. The man that was about to be hung was unfamiliar, and so were the prince and the king. The scene must have taken place outside of Halwen. When he was a mercenary, Tao had been to several places in Halwen, even bearing witness to one of the Halwenian king’s speeches. Therefore, he knew that the king in his dream wasn’t the current Halwenian king.

The biggest surprise was the fact that Junmyeon, Luhan, and Chanyeol were all in his dream. If they were there, then was the dream another vision, this time of the future instead of the past? If the other three were there, then he was most likely there with them, and judging by the way the other three were so panicked when the stranger was about to be hung, the latter may be a friend. Maybe even another Exo member?

Tao sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. He wished he could have seen the events that led up to the public hanging. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t gained an ounce of control over his power to manipulate time. Back before they met Chanyeol, Junmyeon and Luhan had tried giving him pointers, such as meditating and willing his power to come forth. To their disappointment, their efforts yielded nothing.

Now, Tao rolled onto his back and clasped his hands together over his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed as evenly as he could manage, letting himself enter a meditative trance. He focused his thoughts on time, searching within himself for the trigger that would let him control his power. His breathing fell into a solid rhythm, and Luhan’s soft snores gradually faded away.

The next thing Tao knew, he was being roughly shaken. His narrow eyes flew open to see Luhan standing over him, wide awake.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” Luhan teased, “Time to get up.”

Disappointed again, Tao realized that he must have fallen asleep while meditating. Unfortunately, no visions came to him in his sleep this time.

Tao sat up and ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. Luhan eyed him curiously.

“Something bothering you?”

Tao sighed again, still sulking over his failed attempt to control time. “I had another vision, I think.”

Luhan nodded. “I’ll call Junmyeon and Chanyeol.” Tao hummed in assent as Luhan slipped out the room to knock on the next door. Tao heard Junmyeon answer the door and talk to Luhan, and it wasn’t long before the three came filing into Tao and Luhan’s room.

Luhan sat on his own bed while Junmyeon and Chanyeol found space for themselves on Tao’s. When everyone was settled comfortably, Luhan gestured for Tao to tell them about his vision.

Tao explained everything he saw to them as they listened attentively. When he finished, Junmyeon asked, “Can you describe the king?”

“Umm,” Tao wrinkled his nose as he tried to call up the image of the king, “He had graying hair that reached his shoulders, thin mouth, almond eyes, and he was dressed in gold and white.”

Junmyeon nodded. “And the surroundings? Were there a lot of trees?”

“Not a lot, but I saw a few from over the walls around the gallows.”

“Were they pine trees?”

Tao shook his head. “No, they were the trees that would lose their leaves in autumn.”

Junmyeon rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. “Well, judging by what you’ve given me, it doesn’t sound like this occurs in Moltuva, Cassius, or Bolvaria. Those countries’ capitals don’t have any trees. Prigonia and Atheria have pine trees in their capitals, so that leaves Halwen, Dalgu, Sinseye, Trost, and Thesius since Leilan no longer has a king.”

“You said there was someone being hung?” Luhan queried. Tao nodded, and Luhan said, “How does he look?”

“Oval face, thick lower lip, and black hair,” Tao answered, “I also think we’re going to become friends with him because we were all there trying to stop him from being killed.”

Luhan hummed. “Did he seem like a noble or was he a commoner?”

“Most likely a noble. His clothes were pretty fancy.”

“And the king wore gold and white,” Luhan repeated thoughtfully, “Which country has gold and white as its main colors?”

“Not Halwen,” Tao answered immediately as Chanyeol nodded in agreement, “Halwen’s national color is purple.”

“I haven’t seen any gold or white here in Dalgu,” Chanyeol added, “Most of the nobles wear blue and silver.”

“So most likely Sinseye, Trost, or Thesius,” Junmyeon concluded. The others murmured their agreement. “Did you see if they had marks?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Tao said, “But any marks could be covered by clothing.”

“That’s true,” Junmyeon conceded, “I guess we’ll have to head for the capital of Sinseye immediately after we cross the border. Same goes for Trost and Thesius when we get to them, but for now, we work on gathering as much information as we can here in Zephyrgard. We can set out for Sinseye tomorrow morning.”

“Wait,” Chanyeol interrupted, “What are we looking for exactly?”

“Any news regarding Moltuva or people with strange powers.” Junmyeon stood up and stretched. “Since there’s four of us, we could split into two groups. One group will take northern Zephyrgard and the other will take the south.”

The four of them split up. Luhan and Tao headed for the north while Junmyeon and Chanyeol went the opposite way.

The streets of Zephyrgard were crowded, and the king’s castle stood over the rest of the city from a cliff that jutted out from the land. The people were kind, and one merchant gave Tao and Luhan some free roasted quail as a welcoming gift after he learned that it was their first time in Dalgu.

Tao and Luhan held their sticks of quail meat nervously. Neither of them had eaten quail before, and while they figured that it couldn’t be too different from chicken, they were still hesitant to try it.

“Together on three?” Luhan proposed, raising the roasted meat to his lips. Tao nodded and mimicked the action, gently grasping a piece of meat with his teeth.

“One, two, three!” Luhan counted, and they bit down.

The meat was juicy and extremely tasty, and both men finished it off in a few seconds. Tao licked his lips to make sure there wasn’t any oil lingering on them. Luhan sighed wistfully as he looked at his stick, which he had cleaned of quail.

“That was good.” He tossed the stick into a garbage bucket that was next to the stall.

Tao followed suit and eyed the uneaten quail lying on the table. “Should we buy some for Junmyeon and Chanyeol?”

“Yeah, they need to try this.” Luhan pulled out his money pouch and rifled through it, pulling out a few silver coins. He handed them to the merchant, who passed him six sticks of roasted quails. “Four for Junmyeon and Chanyeol, and two for us.” Luhan grinned as he handed Tao one stick.

The two of them ate their roasted quail as they continued walking through Zephyrgard. As they walked, they listened in on the conversations around them. A group of women brushed past them, one of them complaining loudly about how her husband spent too much money on useless things. A drunken, middle-aged man staggered the other way, singing loudly and off tune.

A pair of soldiers approached, heading in the opposite direction as Luhan and Tao. As the two pairs passed each other, Tao overheard what one guard was saying to the other.

“It’s been a month, and Sinseye still hasn’t reopened its borders.”

“I know, right? Sinseye has always been an open country, but then it just suddenly shuts its doors in our faces with no explanation why.”

“I’ve heard the king has been acting differently since his wife died…”

The guards’ voices faded away as they got further and further from Tao and Luhan. Tao looked at Luhan, who stared back with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Well, that might prove to be trouble,” Luhan murmured as the two of them continued walking.

“Should we leave Sinseye and go to Prigonia or Trost instead?” Tao asked, worried for their plan.

“We’ll meet up with Chanyeol and Junmyeon and see what they think,” Luhan said, “But I think we should go to Sinseye and see what’s going on for ourselves.”

The two of them wandered for a while longer before deciding to head back to the inn. Junmyeon and Chanyeol weren’t back yet, so Tao and Luhan went to their shared room and settled on their beds.

“Why do you think Sinseye would close its borders?” Tao asked as Luhan carefully set the roasted quail on the small table between their beds, making sure to place a napkin underneath the cooked meat.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Luhan flopped down on his bed. “Maybe they’re going through some kind of crisis. Maybe there’s a civil war starting. Maybe they heard of what happened to Leilan and thought shutting everyone out was the best course of action.”

“Would it be a good idea to shut everyone out?” Tao mused, “Wouldn’t it be better to work with the other countries and fight back against Moltuva?”

“The guards said the king of Sinseye has been acting strange lately, didn’t they?”

“Well, they said differently, not strange.” Tao could already imagine Luhan rolling his eyes from the other side of the room. “But I don’t know. He could be ruling his country in the same way but with a change in personality or something.”

“That’s still considered strange,” Luhan muttered, “Maybe the king just decided to close the borders without consulting his royal advisors. That would most likely make it a personal reason then.”

The last few words were punctuated by several hard knocks on their door. The two of them jolted up in their beds, listening hard to the voices outside their room. Tao recognized Chanyeol’s deep voice contrasted with Junmyeon’s higher and smoother one.

Luhan sprang from his bed and rushed to open the door. Junmyeon and Chanyeol filed inside, settling down on the edge of Tao’s bed again.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Junmyeon huffed.

“What happened?” Luhan asked as he handed them the roasted quail.

“Chanyeol and I approached the castle and spoke to some guards. Apparently, Moltuva invaded and took over Bolvaria just yesterday evening!” Junmyeon bit down hard on the meat while Chanyeol ate silently but ravenously beside him.

“There were survivors this time though,” Chanyeol piped up between bites of quail. “A man and his daughter fled through Cassius and sought shelter in Atheria.”

“Did they say anything about Moltuva’s army?” Luhan questioned hopefully.

“Blue fire,” Chanyeol supplied, “Blue fire and a black dragon.”

“A dragon?” Tao nearly shrieked. Dragons had gone extinct recently due to hunters, and a live one hadn’t been seen for almost twenty years. Ever since he was little, Tao would hear stories of dragons, listening as the old storyteller spoke about the reclusiveness and power of the mighty beasts. Tao had dreamed of meeting a dragon when he was a child, and although the dream had died as he grew older, he still held some fascination with the winged reptiles.

“He was my friend,” Junmyeon sighed dully.

There was a brief silence as everybody else stared at the shortest, who looked dead tired. Luhan was the first to recover, swallowing hard in disbelief.

“What?” he choked out.

“You’re friends with the dragon that’s burning countries to the ground?” Tao asked.

Junmyeon flinched a little but nodded nonetheless. “I’m actually not sure about our standing. We were friends when I still worked for the king, but he refused to come with me when I told him I was leaving. Wouldn’t tell me why when I asked. I only managed to bring Luhan with me out of Moltuva. I haven’t seen the dragon for four years,” Junmyeon confessed.

“There is another one: the warrior of ice. He is on Moltuva’s side as well,” Junmyeon continued, “I couldn’t ask him to come because we weren’t that close, and I was afraid he would rat me out to the king, who would have executed me immediately.”

“You never told me about this,” Luhan accused, sounding a little hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon apologized genuinely, “We were on the run the moment we left Moltuva, so it never crossed my mind to tell you, especially since the Moltuvian king didn’t give up on hunting us until recently. Then, the issue got pushed further back when we found Tao and Chanyeol. I did plan to tell you, but it kept slipping my mind. I’m sorry.”

Nobody said anything for a while as Junmyeon looked nervously from person to person. Finally, Chanyeol shrugged.

“I just joined anyway so I’m not really upset,” the warrior of fire said.

Tao nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’ve only been a part of this group for about a day longer than Chanyeol, so it’s alright with me.”

Luhan didn’t answer for a while, sitting silently with his face buried in his hands. They waited anxiously for his response.

“I’m not angry,” Luhan said slowly when he sensed the tension, “It’s just…I’m shocked,” he admitted, “I never knew that two of us were helping the enemy.” He rubbed his face in a frustrated manner and sighed. “Not many things are working in our favor. Sinseye’s borders are closed. They’re not letting anyone in or out.”

“Are you serious?” Junmyeon asked.

“A pair of guards were talking about it earlier. Apparently, the king has been acting weird.”

“Should we change our plan or try and get into Sinseye anyway?” Tao inquired.

“I think we should at least go over there and see what’s going on,” Luhan said, “If we cannot get in, I vote we head to Trost.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad plan,” Junmyeon agreed, “Don’t forget about Tao’s vision though. If it means that we gain another Exo member, then we need to find the person and stop him from being executed.”

“I guess we’ll have to listen to Sinseye’s reason for closing their borders and persuade them to let us pass.” Chanyeol grinned brightly, showing off his teeth.

“You have a bit of quail stuck in your teeth.” Tao wrinkled his nose and leaned away from the fire user, who quickly picked at the morsel with a nail.

“So it’s decided? We’re heading to Sinseye?” Junmyeon asked to confirm.

Tao, Luhan, and Chanyeol looked at each other, shrugged and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oooohhhh, Tao had another vision. I wonder who the king, the prince, and the criminal (?) are. And Sinseye's borders are closed. Will the group have to change their plans? Moltuva has taken over Bolvaria as well now. That's not good for Exo.
> 
> 'Til next chapter!


	8. Gaining Access

Tao tried not to breath as he gazed around at all the people living in poverty. The roads were bumpy and full of ditches, and there was no sewer system. Any waste was dumped around haphazardly, and the smell had accumulated into a horrifying stench.

Luhan and Chanyeol looked highly uncomfortable as they tried to fan the air away from their noses inconspicuously, not wanting to insult the people by openly showing disgust. Only Junmyeon looked unbothered, but Tao guessed that the water user was really good at keeping a straight face.

He felt even more respect when Junmyeon even spoke to the villagers. Tao was afraid of opening his mouth at all, thinking that that would only worsen the awful smell that was assaulting his nose.

Out of the three isolated villages that they visited in the past week, this was the filthiest. There was almost always a fly buzzing by Tao’s ear, and he didn’t dare look at the ground and see all the disgusting trash that was lying around. A dirty rag lying in their path shifted slightly to the side of the road, and Tao knew that Luhan was subtly trying to move the garbage away from them with his power.

“No, sir. Haven’t seen ‘em strange people yer talkin’ ‘bout,” the middle-aged woman replied when Junmyeon asked her if she had seen anyone with noticeable abilities.

“How about someone with a mark on his or her body?” Junmyeon queried.

“Nope. Haven’t seen anybody like that either,” she said, eyeing the water user curiously, “Why ya askin’?”

“They are our friends.” Junmyeon smiled as nudged his horse in the side. The four Exo members headed deeper into the village, intent on asking some more people.

The lady called after them. “Hope ya find yer friends!”

The group wandered through the village for a few more minutes, stopping random passersby and asking them about seeing anyone with a strange mark or strange powers. Nobody reported someone with those criteria, but a male teenager had made a remark about a strong wind that was blowing through Dalgu several years ago.

Upon hearing that, Junmyeon and Luhan had gotten excited, thinking that maybe one of the Exo members had been around, but the teenager reminded them that it was years ago. At this point, the four of them realized that even if a member of Exo had been here, he or she would be long gone by now.

They thanked the teenager and went on their way.

“What now?” Tao asked, “That was the last village, right?”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon answered, “We should head for the Dalgu-Sinseye border now.” He turned to Chanyeol. “How much longer are our supplies going to last?”

Chanyeol, who was designated the food keeper, opened the two bags that he carried and peered inside, poking around a little. “About one or two days. We should restock soon.”

“We’ll stop at a town near the border and get more food before we try and cross into Sinseye,” Junmyeon said.

“Chanyeol, Junmyeon,” Luhan suddenly said, “Why do you think Sinseye would close its borders?”

“Trying to protect themselves from Moltuva sending spies?” Chanyeol suggested.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Junmyeon commented thoughtfully, “Maybe there’s a spy already inside and the king thinks that the easiest way to catch the spy is to close the borders so the spy can’t get out.”

“A spy already in Moltuva?” Tao wondered, “But they only conquered Bolvaria a week ago.”

“To be honest, the Moltuvian king probably planted spies long before he even decided to attack Leilan,” Junmyeon answered, “He’s the type to plan ahead for years. Why do you suddenly ask though?”

“Tao and I were discussing this last week,” Luhan said, “We also thought that maybe they were trying to protect themselves from Moltuva, but we also considered the possibility of a civil war or the king closed the borders for a personal reason since he’s been acting strangely.”

“Maybe we can persuade them to let us in if we tell them about the prophecy,” Chanyeol suggested.

“We could,” Junmyeon agreed, but then his voice slowly trailed off. “Wait, Sinseye couldn’t have closed its borders because of what happened to Leilan. Leilan was defeated about two weeks ago, but Sinseye’s borders have been closed for a month.”

“Then they didn’t shut the border to protect themselves from Moltuvian spies either,” Luhan added, “It was too early when they closed the border.”

“Then that leaves either a civil war or king’s personal reason,” Tao concluded.

“I’m going to guess king’s personal reason,” Chanyeol said.

“Why?”

The fire user shrugged. “I feel like it.”

The rest of their journey was filled with playful banter, mostly from Chanyeol talking and the other three interjecting occasionally. Over the past week, Tao had learned that Chanyeol was extremely easy to talk to, even though the red-haired man angered easily. Speaking of red hair, Tao glanced at the strands sitting on top of Chanyeol’s head and noticed that the red had faded a little.

Thinking that he should mention it to the fire user, Tao interrupted one of Chanyeol’s meaningless rants. “Hey, Chanyeol. I think the red in your hair is fading.”

“Oh, yeah, it does that.” Chanyeol reached up and touched his dark-red ends of his hair. “It turns red if I absorb fire, and as I use the firepower that I absorbed, it turns back to black.” Chanyeol had been in charge of lighting campfires for when the four of them needed to camp outside, so that would explain the fading of the red.

“That’s cool!” Luhan exclaimed. “If yours turns red when you absorb fire, maybe Junmyeon’s hair would turn blue if he could absorb water!”

“Your hair turns blue?” Tao was confused. He had been around Junmyeon for a long time and never seen a speck of blue in the latter’s hair.

“No, no, no!” Junmyeon quickly denied, “That’s just Luhan’s wishful thinking.”

“You’d look stupid with blue hair anyway,” Luhan muttered under his breath, but Tao heard it and had to cover his mouth to hide his laugh.

“Shh!” Junmyeon hissed, “We’re arriving at the border.”

The laughter immediately died in Tao’s throat, and he sat up straighter on his horse, craning his neck to look past Junmyeon at the wooden walls standing proudly in front of them. The setting sun made it difficult to see, even if Tao squinted his eyes. It was only when the four of them got nearer that Tao inhaled sharply and Luhan swore.

There were three guards standing in front of the opening in the wall. All three were holding spears, all three had scowls on their faces, and all three were wearing white and gold.

Moments before they were in earshot of the guards, Luhan leaned closer to Junmyeon and hissed, “We need to get through. Tao’s vision took place in Sinseye.” Junmyeon’s only response was a grim nod. Tao saw Chanyeol swallow nervously out of the corner of his eye.

The four of them were a few paces away from the entrance when one of the guards stepped in front of them.

“Halt!” The man commanded sternly, “The border is currently closed. I’m afraid I cannot let you through.”

“Yes, we heard that the border is closed,” Junmyeon replied calmly despite the three pairs of scrutinizing glares focused on him. “May we inquire as to why it is closed?”

“King’s orders,” another guard answered shortly, “Now move along to Trost or something.”

“Is there any way we can persuade you to let us through?” Junmyeon stood his ground despite the guards’ annoyance. “We have very important business in Sinseye and cannot afford to turn back.”

“No, His Majesty has ordered that nobody can cross the border, no matter the excuse.” The first guard raised his spear threateningly. “Sir, if you refuse to leave, I am going to have to resort to force.”

Tao felt Luhan tense beside him. Chanyeol’s hands were clenched in fists as the fire user struggled to keep the flame inside him under control. Tao himself was beginning to feel a little edgy as his eyes flicked from one guard to another, worried that one of them may attack.

“What is going on?” A new voice asked. The guards jumped slightly and whirled around as a fourth soldier appeared.

Like the first three, the newcomer was dressed in plate armor with a white and gold sash tied diagonally across one shoulder. However, this man carried himself proudly, calmly striding over to stand in front of Junmyeon.

“Captain.” All three guards saluted respectfully, but the first guard answered. “These people want to cross the border. We’ve told them that we can’t let them in, but they refuse to leave.”

“We need to get into Sinseye,” Junmyeon cut in, “It’s very important. Please let us through.”

“The king has told us not to let anyone through. I’m sorry, but his orders are absolute,” the captain said apologetically.

Junmyeon sighed. Tao, Luhan, and Chanyeol looked at him, waiting to see what Junmyeon would do.

The water user turned around and met Luhan’s eyes. The telekinetic nodded slightly, and Junmyeon faced front again, only this time, he slid off his horse and gestured to the captain.

“May I speak with you in private, Captain?” he asked politely.

The guards looked like they wanted to protest, but the captain spoke up before they could get a word out.

“Of course,” he agreed softly with a kind smile.

The two of them walked a little ways off, conversing quietly among themselves. Tao glanced at the guards, quietly snickering at their overexaggerated suspicions. Two of the guards were staring fiercely after Junmyeon and the captain as though expecting the former to suddenly turn rabid and attack the latter.

While Tao laughed silently, Luhan let out an audible snort of amusement. “Relax. Junmyeon isn’t going to hurt your captain,” he coaxed only to be met with mistrustful glares. He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture at the animosity that was suddenly directed at him, rolling his eyes when the guards refocused their attention on their captain. Chanyeol grinned at the exchange but didn’t say anything.

Tao looked back at Junmyeon and the captain in time to see the look of shock on the captain’s face. He guessed that Junmyeon must have told the captain about the prophecy. Sure enough, Junmyeon lifted the bottom of shirt slightly, no doubt showing the captain the waterdrop mark on his stomach.

“What is he doing?” Tao heard one of the guards mutter.

Barely a moment after, Junmyeon and the captain came back. The latter cleared his throat and addressed the group. “I will report your circumstances to His Majesty, and he will decide whether or not to let you in. In the meantime, we will allow you to stay in the barracks with the other soldiers.”

“Really?” Luhan and Chanyeol exclaimed at the same time, then turned simultaneously to give each other identically surprised looks.

“Really,” the captain repeated, “However, you are not permitted to leave the barracks until I return with the king’s answer.”

“We can make do with that,” Junmyeon answered, taking the reins of his horse.

The captain nodded and approached the third guard, who hadn’t said a word since the four Exo members arrived at the gate. He leaned forward and whispered instructions to the guard, and the guard nodded.

The captain patted the guard on the shoulder and walked off into the night. Tao watched as he mounted a jet-black stallion and galloped away in the west direction.

The guard who the captain spoke to briefly stood up and stretched, mouth gaping in a wide yawn. “The captain will not be back for at least three days. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable here. Follow me; I will show you to the barracks.”

Without waiting for the travelers to respond, the guard turned and headed further into Sinseye. Junmyeon turned and looked at the other three before following on foot, guiding his horse along with the reins. Luhan, Tao, and Chanyeol mimicked him, sliding off their horses and hurrying after Junmyeon. The other two guards parted to let them pass, despite their disapproving stares.

Their guide led them to a small bunker. It was slightly smaller than the other bunkers that were lined out neatly beside it, but it was enough to fit the four of them for a few nights. A large stable stood in the center of the circle made by the bunkers, and Tao could see the silhouettes of several horses already inside.

“You can leave your horses there.” The soldier pointed at the stable. “Don’t worry. The others won’t take them.”

After their horses were secured in the stable, the four Exo members followed the soldier into the bunker. There was a large living room with a simple yet nice fireplace and a dining table complete with four chairs. Seeing the chairs made Tao expect four bedrooms, but there were only two.

“Everybody shares a room here,” the guard explained, “It saves money and space to have two people to a room.”

“Thank you very much for accommodating us,” Junmyeon said politely.

The guard nodded and left, pointing out that there was some food already stocked in the storeroom that they could help themselves to if they got hungry. He also pointed to the bunker on the left and said they could find him there if they needed anything. After the guard shut the door behind him, the four of them split into pairs and chose their rooms. This time, Tao roomed with Junmyeon while Luhan and Chanyeol shared.

For the next three days, the four of them were forced to stay in the bunker. The few times they were allowed out were when they needed to stretch their legs, use the outhouse, or take a bath. Only a few soldiers ever spoke to them in a friendly way. The rest either ignored them or regarded them coldly, believing that the four of them would be turned away by the king soon.

Even though the captain had told them they weren’t allowed to leave the bunker, the four Exo members didn’t get tired of being holed up. The soldiers they managed to befriend visited them constantly, bringing Sinsinian food and clothes to give them. The four of them were distracted by the new culture and people, and the days passed by quickly.

It was on the morning of the third day that the sound of a galloping horse reached Exo. Tao heard it first and leaped off his bed, rushing to the window to peer outside. Sure enough, the captain had returned from the royal palace and was currently being greeted by the soldiers.

Tao alerted Junmyeon, Luhan, and Chanyeol of the captain’s return, and the four of them hurried out of their rooms. They arrived in the bunker’s living room at the same time three loud knocks sounded from the door.

Junmyeon was the one to open the door and greet the captain. The water user offered the captain a seat, but the captain declined and asked, “Have you packed your bags yet?”

The Exo members blinked at each other in confusion and slight disappointment, believing that the king of Sinseye had ordered them out of the country. However, the captain’s mouth curled into a wide smile, and he said, “The king has approved your entry and wishes to speak with you four in the palace. We’re leaving immediately, so pack your things and we’ll set out.”

Tao couldn’t believe it, and judging by Luhan’s and Chanyeol’s wide eyes, they couldn’t either. Junmyeon bowed repeatedly, thanking the captain for his help.

“Thank His Majesty, not me,” the captain said as he walked outside to wait.

The few things that they had taken out of their bags were hastily stuffed back in. Rooms were hastily scanned to make sure nothing was forgotten. A moment later, the four of them were out in the stables, untying their horses and leading the animals out into the open before mounting. Quick goodbyes were said to the soldiers who came to see them off, and then, the four were following the captain west towards Fluor, the capital of Sinseye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So the Tao's vision in the last chapter took place in Sinseye, and the four of them managed to get the Sinsinian king's permission to stay in Sinseye. Sounds like Exo is going to find some interesting stuff in Fluor, the capital of Sinseye. Hope you guys anticipate this as much as I am ^^
> 
> 'Til next chapter!


	9. Palace of the Golden Sparrow

 

The captain’s name was Leeteuk, and he was very friendly.

Throughout the trip to Fluor, Leeteuk explained aspects of Sinsinian culture to the Exo members, who were awed by the importance of nature in the country. He encouraged them to try new foods, which consisted mostly of seafood that Tao found delicious. The captain even paid for their rooms despite protests from the four Exo members. It got to the point that Luhan started becoming suspicious of Leeteuk, saying that nobody was ever this kind without an ulterior motive.

However, Leeteuk never said or did anything malicious, and Luhan’s suspicions were soothed when they finally arrived in Fluor. The moment the group stepped through the gates to the city, they were dazzled and almost blinded by the gold and white that greeted them.

“Keep an eye out for the man in your vision,” Junmyeon murmured to Tao quietly as they proceeded towards the castle. Tao nodded and scanned the mass of people who had flocked over to gaze at them curiously. There were men with long faces and almond eyes, but their bottom lip was too thin. Some men had thick lips, but they were too short or their face was too round.

In the end, Tao didn’t find the noble in his vision before they reached the steps of the palace.

The castle was built using white marble that sparkled under the sun. The doors and windows were lined with gold, and above the enormous front doors was a golden statue of a bird.

“That’s a sparrow,” Leeteuk explained upon noticing the stares, “They symbolize community, joy, and protection. It’s what we value most in Sinseye.”

Tao leaned down when Leeteuk looked away and whispered in Junmyeon’s ear, “That’s the bird that was on the man’s shirt.”

“Maybe he’s in the palace,” Junmyeon murmured back.

Tao straightened up and looked around. He could see various servants scurrying around the halls, and there were at least two soldiers standing guard at every doorway. None of the faces were familiar.

He stopped looking around when they reached the throne room and focused on the regal man sitting before them. The graying hair, golden crown, and white robes were exactly how Tao remembered them from the vision. The only thing different about the king was the warm expression he wore as he welcomed the four of them into the palace.

“It is an honor to have the people of the prophecy in the Palace of the Golden Sparrow,” the king said with a smile, “I hope your travels have been treating you well.”

“We are alive,” Junmyeon replied wryly, and the king chuckled at the morbid attempt at humor.

“Let me have someone show you to the guest rooms. Then, we can talk. Sound good to you?” the king offered. Exo gladly agreed, and a servant stepped forward to lead them through the halls of the palace.

As the four of them gathered up their things, someone stealthily peeked around the edge of a doorway in a corner of the room. The person watched with curiosity, brown eyes pinned on the group as they followed a servant to the other side of the room. He was so focused on the strangers that he didn’t notice the light footsteps behind him and violently jumped when the person spoke.

“Sir, you should be in your room. His Majesty will be angry if he sees you here.” The maid said softly with a worried expression on her face.

The man cast a last glance at Junmyeon’s retreating back and sighed in resignation. “It’s alright. I’m heading there now.” Without looking back, he silently passed the maid and headed down the silent hall.

______ _

“This is the first time we’ve had our own rooms!” Tao exclaimed after their guide left them to their own devices, having pointed out the four rooms the Exo members were assigned to.

“Holy shit!” Chanyeol suddenly shouted from one of the rooms. The others peeked in to see the fire user drowning in a mountain of sheets and blankets. Chanyeol flailed his limbs, struggling to recover from the golden bed, which was softer than he had expected.

Junmyeon, Luhan, and Tao laughed at their flustered comrade, and Luhan walked over to pull Chanyeol off the bed. They proceeded to choose their rooms. Chanyeol stayed in the room he was already in, and Tao took the room next to his. Luhan and Junmyeon settled in the rooms across the hall.

 _I hope I find the man from my vision soon,_ Tao thought as he placed his belongings on the table beside the bed, _If he is our ally, we can’t let him be killed._

By the time Tao finished examining his room, there was another servant waiting outside in the hall for them. The middle-aged woman bowed and smiled kindly, introducing herself as the one who was ordered to escort them to the dining hall.

Chanyeol was the last one to leave his room, and he came out with a panicked look on his face. “Um,” he began uncomfortably, “The potted plant that was in my room.”

“Is it not to your liking, sir?” The servant asked, “If you prefer a different decoration, we can arrange for it to be changed.”

“No, that’s not it. I just…kind of set it on fire.” The fire user scratched the back of his neck nervously, looking down at the golden-tiled floor in shame.

Everyone hurried into Chanyeol’s room, and sure enough, there was a burnt and blackened plant sitting in the corner. The walls behind it were also slightly charred, but overall, the damage wasn’t heavy.

The servant was obviously relieved. “Oh, we can fix this easily. By the time you return from dinner with His Majesty, the wall shall be repainted, and the plant shall be fixed.”

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol apologized, “I got a little too excited and ended up setting fire to the plant.”

“Do not fret, sir. It is no trouble,” The servant reassured.

The king was already sitting at the dining table by the time the group arrived. The aging man rose from his seat, welcoming them with a smile and gesturing for the four to have a seat at the table. Tao recognized Leeteuk, who was sitting to the right of the king. An unfamiliar young man was sitting on the left, and Tao hesitantly took the seat beside him.

The stranger greeted Tao timidly, and Tao replied with equal shyness. The king cleared his throat once everyone was seated, drawing all attention to him.

“I thank you for taking the time to join us for dinner today, although I am sure you all are exhausted from your journey.”

“We thank you for inviting us to have dinner with you, Your Majesty,” Junmyeon replied without missing a beat, bowing his head slightly.

“Of course.” The king nodded in the direction of the man sitting on his left. “This is my son Baekhyun. He is the crown prince, and he is one of you.”

Baekhyun placed his right hand over his heart and lowered his head respectfully. “It is an honor to meet you.”

“The honor is ours.” Junmyeon, Luhan, Chanyeol, and Tao returned the gesture, and Tao took the chance to take in Baekhyun’s features. The crown prince looked similar to the man in Tao’s vision, with an oval-shaped face and almond eyes. However, Baekhyun’s lips were thin, and Tao seriously doubted that the king would order the execution of his own son.

“How much control do you have over your power, Your Highness?” Junmyeon asked Baekhyun, who was prodding at the snow peas on the plate.

“Well, I use it to turn the lights in my room on and off,” Baekhyun replied, “I haven’t used for anything else, really.”

“You haven’t tried fighting with it?”

Baekhyun glanced at the king, who was watching them talk. “Father never had someone teach me how to fight.”

If Junmyeon found that strange, he didn’t show it, but Tao couldn’t help but pause in his chewing for a moment. All princes were taught how to fight. As successors of the throne, there would most likely be attempts on their life from jealous nobles or even assassins from other countries. Princes needed to be able to defend themselves in case there were no guards around.

“Is something wrong?” The king’s question made Tao jump a little, but it turns out that the king was speaking to Luhan. Tao breathed a silent sigh of relief. He thought he had accidentally made a doubtful expression, and the king had seen.

“No, Your Majesty,” Luhan answered easily after he swallowed his mouthful of potatoes. “I just found it unusual for a prince to not know how to fight. What if he is attacked?”

“That will not happen,” the king said firmly, “No harm will ever come to my son.”

Tao thought he heard Baekhyun mutter something, but when he looked over, the crown prince was reluctantly eating his snow peas.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Luhan argued, “Prince Baekhyun should at least know basic defense. He will not always have someone nearby to protect him.”

Junmyeon must have sensed that a full-blown fight was brewing because he shot Luhan a warning look. At the same time, Baekhyun lifted his head from the snow peas and said, “It’s alright, sir. I appreciate your concern, but nothing has happened so far. It’s really okay.”

Luhan must have gotten the hint because he dropped the matter, apologizing to the king and Baekhyun. The tension disappeared as dinner went on as Junmyeon struck up a conversation with the king and Leeteuk, and Luhan and Chanyeol messed with each other.

Tao decided to take a risk. He leaned a little closer to Baekhyun and murmured as quietly as he could, “Excuse me. Do you know anyone who has an oval-shaped face, almond eyes, black hair, and a thick lower lip?”

For a moment, the crown prince merely stared at Tao, and the latter was going to give up when Baekhyun suddenly asked, “Why do you want to know?”

“He is our friend,” Tao answered but quickly corrected himself, “Well, more like a future friend. We don’t know him right now, but we’re looking for him. He is somewhere in Sinseye. Looks like someone wealthy.”

There was a hopeful expression on Baekhyun’s face, and the prince threw a cautious glance in the king’s direction before leaning closer to Tao.  “He’s like us. He has a symbol on his chest,” Baekhyun whispered. He looked nervously at the king again. “I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to be overheard.”

Tao nodded and the two of them straightened back up, acting as though they hadn’t been talking about anything important in the first place. From his peripheral vision, Tao saw the king cast a strange glance at Baekhyun and look away again.

Dinner went by without a hitch. Everyone was full by the time the servants came to clear the table. Once all the dishes were put away, the king leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands. “Where do you plan to go after you leave Sinseye?”

“We’re thinking of heading to Trost or Prigonia next since they’re bordering countries,” Suho explained, “There are still seven of us out there, and we need to get them to join as soon as possible.”

“And you’ve already searched Cassius and Bolvaria?” The king questioned, humming when Suho nodded in confirmation.

Tao allowed his mind to wander as Suho discussed their plans with the Sinsinian king, Leeteuk, and Baekhyun. His eyes fell on the doorway on the opposite side of the room, and he started when he saw somebody peeking around the corner. The person was gone before Tao could get a good look, but he managed to glimpse a head of black hair.

“Tao?” Luhan’s inquisitive voice took his attention away from the doorway. “What are you looking at?”

Everyone at the table was looking at Tao, and the latter flushed at the sudden attention. “Oh, um, I–I thought…”

A sudden pressure on the side of his leg made Tao stutter to a stop and look down to see Baekhyun lightly jabbing the handle of a fork into his thigh. When Tao met the prince’s eyes, Baekhyun almost indiscernibly shook his head and pressed his lips together. Even though the two had just met, Tao understood the silent message.

“I–I thought I saw someone, but it turns out it was just a servant,” Tao lied, hoping the king wouldn’t notice the faint tremor in his voice.

The warrior of time slumped in relief when the king nodded and turned away to talk to Leeteuk. He glanced to his right at the same time Baekhyun looked at him. The crown prince offered Tao a grateful smile and turned back to the conversation between his father and the general. Tao raised his eyes and flinched when he met Junmyeon’s stern expression.

The water user shifted his gaze to Baekhyun, then looked back at Tao. He had obviously seen the exchange between Tao and the crown prince, and Tao was willing to bet that Junmyeon had seen right through his lie.

Trying to say that he doesn’t want to say anything until it was just them, Tao shook his head and jerked his head in the direction of the king. Junmyeon’s eyes followed the motion before giving Tao one last look and turning to a fidgeting Chanyeol.

Tao jumped again when he looked to his left and saw Luhan staring at him. Unlike Junmyeon, Luhan wore an expression of curiosity as he leaned in and whispered, “What’s up with you and the crown prince?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Tao murmured back, “Meet in my room after.”

Luhan reluctantly nodded, and the two of them straightened up. Tao waited eagerly for the dismissal, and when the king finally rose from his seat, Tao shot out of his chair as though it was on fire. The four of them bid goodbye to Leeteuk, Baekhyun, and the king and followed a servant back to their rooms. Junmyeon and Chanyeol were about to head to their own rooms, but Luhan pulled them into Tao’s room, saying they were having a group meeting immediately.

“Why were you fidgeting the entire time?” Junmyeon complained to Chanyeol as they filed into Tao’s chamber, settling down on the bed and chairs.

“It was so boring,” Chanyeol whined back, “What else was I supposed to do?”

Luhan merely laughed at the two as he laid down on Tao’s bed, leaving Tao with nowhere to sit. Undeterred, Tao unceremoniously pushed Luhan’s limbs aside, so he could sit.

“So what was going on between you and the crown prince during dinner?” Luhan asked.

“Well, I saw someone looking at us from a doorway across the room,” Tao explained, “I was going to mention it when the king asked me, but Baekhyun didn’t want me to.”

“You _saw_ someone?” Junmyeon began, but a sudden knock at the door interrupted him.

“Are you expecting someone else, Tao?” Chanyeol asked as he stood up and made to open the door.

At first, Tao was surprised to see Baekhyun, but when he remembered that the crown prince had said he would contact Tao later, he was quick to stand up and usher Baekhyun in. Luhan and Junmyeon immediately stood as well, bowing to the visitor.

“You don’t have to bow when you see me,” Baekhyun noted, “I actually prefer it if you’re more casual.”

They resettled themselves, and Baekhyun crossed his legs and his arms. “So how do you know about my brother?”

“What?” Luhan furrowed his eyebrows.

“Brother?” Junmyeon echoed.

“Who’s your brother?” Chanyeol asked in confusion.

“The man in my vision,” Tao explained quickly. He turned back to Baekhyun. “I have the power over time, but I can’t control it right now. I can still see the future or the past sometimes, and I had a vision of this man…your brother, I believe.”

“My brother has a slightly thinner face than mine, and he’s got black hair, almond eyes, and a thick lower lip,” Baekhyun confirmed.

“Does he have a light-blue shirt with a golden bird sewn across it?” Tao asked.

Baekhyun sighed. “That’s his favorite shirt.” He put his head in his hands and ruffled the neat black locks. “He has a mark, too, and you need to get him out of the palace or–”

“Wait,” Junmyeon interrupted, “The king didn’t mention having another son.”

“He wouldn’t,” Baekhyun muttered, “My brother is more like my half-brother. We share the same mother, but I am related to the king through blood.”

“A bastard child?”

“Please don’t call him that,” the crown prince said stiffly. Junmyeon softly apologized, and Baekhyun continued, “Anyway, my father hates him and treats him worse than he does the servants, which I don’t understand because he loved my brother when we were children. I don’t know what happened, but my brother can’t stay here.”

“Where is your brother now?” Luhan inquired.

“Father makes him stay in the west wing, where all the servants live,” Baekhyun said bitterly. He then placed a hand on his chest. “He has the healing power, and his mark is on his chest right over his heart.” Baekhyun patted the area.

“What’s his name?” Chanyeol piped up.

“Yixing.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon rubbed his hands together. “So we need to get both you and Yixing out of the palace. If your father hates your brother as much as you say, then it shouldn’t be difficult to convince him to let Yixing leave, right?”

“Actually, I don’t think he will let Yixing out.” Baekhyun bit his lip nervously. “Father hates him, but he doesn’t let Yixing leave the palace for whatever reason. I get more freedom than Yixing does, and I’m the crown prince.”

“Well, I’m sure we can convince the king somehow,” Junmyeon tried.

“I think it would honestly be easier to just sneak him out of the palace without letting Father know.”

“Why don’t we figure this out tomorrow,” Luhan interrupted, “We already know what we need to do: meet with Yixing and let him know we’re here to take him out of this palace, make sure that the king is okay with letting Baekhyun leave, and somehow take Yixing with us, too.”

“Prince,” Tao began, “if you tried to convince the king to let your brother leave, would he listen?”

“I doubt it,” Baekhyun replied, “but I can try.”

“I have an idea.” Chanyeol half-raised his hand. “What if Baekhyun tries to talk to the king tomorrow morning and lets us know if he succeeds during lunch? He can slip one of us a note. If he succeeds, then we can bring it up with the king ourselves. If not, then we find Yixing and sneak him out.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Junmyeon spoke. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol cried indignantly, “I can have good ideas sometimes!”

“Only sometimes?” Baekhyun teased lightly, and the look of shocked betrayal on Chanyeol’s face made Luhan laugh so hard he rolled off Tao’s bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey, guys. So, I just realized that I never told you that I was going to go on hiatus for a bit while I worked on a story for a writing contest. I'm very sorry for leaving you guys hanging for almost two months without any notice ;-;
> 
> I decided to post this as a Thanksgiving present (and if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, just consider this a normal chapter) even though I'm posting this thirty minutes before it's actually Thanksgiving, but whatever.
> 
> Hope you guys like the chapter, and sorry again for not posting until now!
> 
> 'Til next update <3


	10. The King's Prisoner

Minseok stepped lightly across the black marble floor, skirting around the orc patrols that were wandering throughout the castle. Some of the beasts growled at him while others simply ignored him, yellow eyes flashing in the near lightless castle. The small warrior quickened his pace, leaving patches of frost on the places he stepped on.

As he headed up the stairs, the lit torches flickered and died a bit due to the cold emanating from his body. Minseok wished they would go out so he wouldn’t have to see the ugly Moltuvian symbol carved into the wall.

He passed the large wooden deck that had been built for Yifan’s transformations and turned right. The vast throne room loomed over him as he entered, swallowing Minseok’s tiny frame whole. The stone gargoyle perched on the back wall of the room leered at him, showing off razor-sharp teeth.

“Minseok.”

The king tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his throne. Minseok walked the last couple of paces and bent his back in a bow.

“The spy has sent word, Your Majesty.” The words were bitter on his tongue. “They have reached Fluor and have taken up residence within the castle.”

The king smiled approvingly. “Very good. Tell him to proceed with the plan.”

Minseok bowed again. “Understood.” He made to leave, but the king raised a hand, halting him mid-step.

“On your way back to your quarters, tell Yifan that we will be completing the resurrection process in two weeks.”

Minseok’s eyes widened slightly, but he remained composed and acknowledged the order. He hurried back down the stairs, followed by flickering flames as he made his way back to the quarters. He knocked on Yifan’s door and let himself in.

The taller warrior was lying spread-eagled on his bed when Minseok entered, but he sat up when he saw that he had a guest.

“What is it?” Yifan asked tiredly, rubbing at his cheek. The edges of a scar peeked out from between long fingers.

“There is a resurrection happening two weeks from today. He wants to bring back that general who died twelve years ago.” Minseok dropped himself on Yifan’s bed, wincing at the hardness of the mattress as it collided with his head.

“Well, fuck.”

“Yeah,” Minseok laughed humorlessly.

Silence fell upon the pair, but it was a comfortable silence. Sometimes, they liked to just sit with each other, enjoying the company. Words did not have to be exchanged for the two of them to know what the other was thinking.

A brief moment later, Minseok murmured, “Yifan, does this place feel stuffy to you?”

There was a pause before Yifan replied with a quiet, “Yeah.” Then, the man paused again and added, “It’s because we’re prisoners.”

“Prisoners?”

A third pause. “A prisoner does not have to be chained to a wall.”

Minseok did not verbally reply, instead choosing to push himself off the bed and leave the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft _click_.

__________

Junmyeon decided to take a walk after breakfast. Living at the palace could easily make him gain weight or become lazy, and he couldn’t have that happen, so he ended up walking around the palace, taking in the royal purple curtains hanging on the walls and the large paintings that they framed. He had asked the others if they wanted to come with him, but Luhan decided to try and train Tao and Chanyeol despite the lack of progress with Tao and having a power that was completely unrelated to Chanyeol’s.

The part of the castle that Junmyeon was wandering in was quiet compared to the rest of the structure. There were still guards stationed at every entrance, but there weren’t as many servants walking through the halls. He would only see a servant or two every few minutes, but Junmyeon didn’t mind the quiet.

As he leisurely strolled down a long hallway, he noticed an enclosed garden outside to his right. A wide array of plants stared up at him from the garden, and those same plants greeted him when Junmyeon stepped into the garden a few minutes later.

The colorful flowers waved gently as a small breeze passed over them. Junmyeon bent over and examined a sky-blue flower, admiring the smoothness of the petals. He glanced down and lightly pressed the tips of his fingers into the soil.

A little dry.

Looking around to check if anyone was watching, Junmyeon didn’t see anyone and commanded his power to manifest. Drops of water gathered in thin ribbons around his hand, and he scattered the liquid in the soil, watering the plants with a few quick flicks of his hand. Once he was finished with those plants, he moved on to the next row, repeating his movements and making sure that every plant could have a drink.

Satisfied with his work, Junmyeon made to leave the garden and return to the castle, but a sudden pain shot up his arm. Holding back a scream, Junmyeon looked down to see a fanged plant gripping onto his upper arm with its teeth, biting so hard that blood was beginning to ooze from the wound.

Hissing in frustration and agony, Junmyeon tried tugging the plant away from his arm, but it was latched on tight and only sank its teeth deeper. When the pain intensified, Junmyeon couldn’t help but let out a loud swear and jumped when someone let out an exclamation behind him.

Junmyeon whipped around to see a well-dressed man hurry over. The water warrior was expecting to be scolded. Maybe he shouldn’t have been in the garden. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that walk. He was starting to wish that he had just stayed with the others.

He was surprised when the newcomer lightly grasped his wounded arm, reaching out to stroke the aggressive plant soothingly on the bud. Junmyeon watched in fascination and awe as the plant appeared to flex under the attention and slowly retracted its teeth from Junmyeon’s arm, settling back onto its stem and once more looking like an innocent plant.

“I’m so very sorry,” the newcomer apologized, “The plants can be rather hostile towards strangers. Please allow me to treat your arm.”

Junmyeon wasn’t listening. He was focused on the person’s features, taking in the kind and somewhat shy expression, the brown almond-shaped eyes, and the thick lower lip.

“Yixing?” he blurted out and instantly regretted speaking rashly.

The person – Yixing – froze, staring at him in disbelief. There was suspicion in his eyes, and Junmyeon swore that he backed away a little. “How do you know my name?” Yixing asked shakily, eyes darting nervously.

“Wait.” Junmyeon held up both arms, wincing slightly with his injured one. “I’m a guest here. The Crown Prince, Baekhyun, told me about you.”

Yixing paused. “Baekhyun?”

The pain in his arm seemed to be intensifying because at this point, Junmyeon was struggling to hold his arm up. He chose to let it drop to his side and cradled the wound with his other hand. “Yes. My friends and I met him yesterday during dinner, and we spoke to him last night. He told us about you.” He sucked in a breath when the pain suddenly spiked. “Do you have anything I can treat this wound with?”

Yixing nodded and moved closer. “I have some medicines in my quarters, and I’ll be able to treat you there. Please come with me.”

Junmyeon followed Baekhyun’s half-brother out of the garden, allowing Yixing to guide him down the hall. The pain stabbed at his arm with every step, and Junmyeon was thinking that he was going to pass out before they even reached Yixing’s room, but Yixing pushed open the next door they arrived at.

Junmyeon laid down on the bed that Yixing led him to and chewed on his bottom lip as he tried not to cry out from the growing pain, watching the other bustle around the room, getting towels, a bowl of water, a bottle from off the shelf, and another bottle from the table. Yixing placed those down beside Junmyeon and went back to the table, grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer. He pulled a stool from the side and placed it beside the bed, sitting down as he gently tugged on Junmyeon’s ruined sleeve, making his patient cry out in pain.

“Is that plant venomous?” Junmyeon asked through gritted teeth, “I swear it did not hurt this much before.”

“Yes, it is venomous,” Yixing murmured, “The venom is meant to intensify the pain until the victim passes out. It won’t kill you.”

 _Great_ , Junmyeon wants to say, but Yixing chose to peel the cloth away from the wound at that moment.

“Like I said, I can treat this,” Yixing said when he saw Junmyeon’s pained and worried expression, “I have an antidote for the poison. The pain will subside in less than an hour after I administer it.”

He then raised the scissors. “I’m going to have to cut off your sleeve now. I can fix your shirt later if you want it back.”

“It’s alright,” Junmyeon said, hearing the faint snips of Yixing removing his sleeve. A moment later, there was the sound of the scissors being put down, and Junmyeon angled his head to see Yixing pick up one of the bottles and a cloth, wetting the latter with the clear liquid.

“This will hurt a lot,” Yixing said as he picked up another cloth and held it up to Junmyeon’s mouth. “Bite down on this so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Junmyeon gingerly took the cloth in his teeth, biting down on it as Yixing dabbed at his wound. Sure enough, the pain flared, consuming Junmyeon’s senses. The water warrior’s howl of agony was muffled by the cloth and he balled up the sheets in his fist. He hadn’t even realized he was crying until he felt Yixing remove the towel from his mouth and dab at his eyes.

“Sorry about that,” the other apologized softly, “I had to disinfect the wound before applying the antidote. It’ll get better from here.”

Unable to find his voice, Junmyeon nodded, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He felt a cool cloth press against his wound again, and he braced himself for pain but was surprised to find none. The throbbing agony from the disinfectant was there, but it did not spike as Junmyeon expected it to. Instead, the pain was slowly fading as though soothed by the liquid that was running down his arm.

“Could you roll onto your side for me?” Yixing asked.

Junmyeon shifted until he was lying on his uninjured side, feeling Yixing lean over him. He watched as the other held the towel over the wound and squeezed until the antidote came dripping out and onto the bite. Then, the healer wrapped the towel around the wound, letting the antidote soak into it.

“Let me know when the bite starts to feel numb,” Yixing directed as he began to clean up the other supplies, “I’ll close the wound and bandage it up, and you’ll be free to leave.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon rasped as the healer headed toward a cabinet nearby. Yixing rifled through the contents for a moment before pulling out a white shirt. He folded it up and placed it on the bed.

“You can have this shirt. Sorry about cutting yours,” Yixing offered with a smile.

“Thank you.” Junmyeon returned the smile with a similar gesture.

There were a few seconds of silence, interrupted by Yixing organizing the various jars of medicine that were on his shelf. Then, the healer glanced over at Junmyeon, who was tracing circles on the bedsheets with his finger. “So you’re like me then?”

Junmyeon paused and looked up. Yixing gestured at Junmyeon’s abdomen. “That mark on your stomach. I have a mark on my chest.”

“Oh, yeah.” Junmyeon lifted the bottom of his shirt slightly to reveal the droplet symbol. Upon seeing the action, Yixing pulled at his tunic, and Junmyeon saw the mark that was placed carefully over where Yixing’s heart is, just like Baekhyun said.

“Is that…?” Junmyeon leaned closer as much as his position would allow.

“A unicorn head,” Yixing said, “Even though unicorns have been extinct for centuries now.”

Junmyeon nodded, unsure of what else to say as Yixing fixed his shirt, but then he remembered what the others had discussed last night.

“Last night, when Baekhyun came to meet us,” he began, “he told us that the king never lets you leave the palace. Is this true?”

Yixing did not answer right away, but when he did, he said, “Well, yes, but I never really ask to go out anyway.” He eyed Junmyeon curiously. “What else did he tell you?”

 _He mentioned that you two have different fathers,_ Junmyeon thought but didn’t say. “Nothing much really. He also said that he’s going to try to talk to His Majesty about the prophecy and you two coming with us while we find the others.”

“How many of you are there?”

“We have four now. Including you and Baekhyun would be six, and I know where two more are even though they’re not here, so that makes it a total of eight,” Junmyeon explained, “But only four of us are actively trying to fulfill the prophecy. We want you and Baekhyun to come with us.”

“Really?” Yixing’s tone was hopeful and hesitant. “I-I don’t know how to fight though. I wouldn’t be able to be in the front lines of a battle. Baekhyun has minimal sword training, but I’ve never held a weapon before.”

“One of us is really skilled with swords and daggers. I’m sure he could teach you,” Junmyeon offered, “And even if you don’t know how to fight, you’re still an important part of the war as a healer.” He suddenly remembered his wound, which had lost feeling a while ago. “My arm is numb now, by the way.”

“Ah, yes.” Yixing grabbed a handful of cloth strips and returned to Junmyeon’s side, gently peeling off the antidote-soaked towel and placing it in the bowl of water. Using one of the strips, the healer wiped at the wound once more before placing a hand over the injury. As Junmyeon watched, a faint green glow emanated from Yixing’s hand, and within seconds, the bite wound had been reduced to a series of light puncture wounds in Junmyeon’s arm. Once the light faded, Yixing bound the wound, carefully tying a knot to make sure that the bandages wouldn’t unravel as Junmyeon watched in awe.

As he cleared away the remaining supplies, Yixing chewed on his lower lip. Junmyeon could tell that he was seriously considering joining the group.

“I’ll go with you if you can convince the king to let me go,” the healer finally said.

“Deal.” Junmyeon was satisfied with the answer since he was sure that Baekhyun would already have persuaded the king to allow Yixing out of the palace. He slid off the bed, gingerly moving his arm around to test for any pain and relaxing when there was none. “Thank you so much for the treatment. You’re really good at this.”

The other smiled genuinely and waved as Junmyeon left. The moment he was out of earshot of the healer, Junmyeon began to jog through the halls, trying to get back to the others as soon as possible without accidentally running into something or someone.

Luhan, Chanyeol, and Tao were still training when Junmyeon found them, but Baekhyun was nowhere to be seen. Junmyeon assumed that the Crown Prince had been called away by his father.

“I met him,” Junmyeon blurted out the moment he stepped into the room. The fireball that was circulating around the room vanished in a flash as Chanyeol lost his concentration.

“Yixing?” Luhan asked, and Junmyeon nodded.

“What happened to your arm?” Tao questioned as he put his sword away, eyes fixed on the bandages wrapped around Junmyeon’s upper arm.

“A plant bit me. I was walking through Yixing’s garden, and I guess it must have thought I was an intruder, so it bit me really hard. Yixing treated the wound using an antidote for the plant’s poison and his healing power.”

“What was it like?” Luhan asked as Chanyeol stared at the bandages in awe. “Wait, did you tell him about our plan?”

“It went well,” Junmyeon answered, shying away from Chanyeol when the other tried to touch the bandages, “I told him about the plan, and he said that he’ll come with us if we can convince the king to let him go. When did Baekhyun leave?”

“A while ago. The king wanted to talk to him before his lessons started. He said he was going to try to ask the king about Yixing leaving.” Luhan lowered his voice. “By the way, I want to speak to you about something. All of you.”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. “We’re listening.”

“In private. Let’s go to my room.”

“Is there something wrong?” Tao asked worriedly as they began walking back towards their quarters. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Chanyeol stopped messing with Junmyeon long enough to hear Luhan’s reply.

“I think so, but I hope not.”

All four of them filed into Luhan’s room, settling down on the chairs and the rug to listen to what the telekinetic had to say.

“I feel like there’s something wrong with the situation regarding Yixing,” Luhan started immediately after the door was tightly shut. “A couple of servants were talking this morning, and they said some things that made the issue between Yixing and the king a little weird.”

“What did the servants say?” Junmyeon questioned.

“They said that the king did not use to treat Yixing like a bastard child. From what I heard, it sounds like the king used to love Yixing, but for some reason, he started changing about ten years ago.”

“Did they say why he started changing?”

“No,” Luhan sighed, “I wanted to ask them, but I felt that that would seem presumptuous of me, so I didn’t. Honestly though, the king isn’t keeping Yixing locked up in the palace because he’s some overprotective father.”

“He’s more like a prisoner,” Tao whispered, “A prisoner in his own home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Back with another chapter! Seems like the Moltuvian king is up to something, and he's dragging Minseok and Yifan with him. Is there more to the relationship between Yixing and the king of Sinseye? What is the plan that the Moltuvian king mentioned, and how will it affect the Exo members in Sinseye? Hopefully, the next chapter will shed more light on these issues.
> 
> 'Til next update!


	11. A Cold, Cruel Figure

When he saw Junmyeon pacing in circles, Tao knew that none of their plans were working.

Two days ago during lunch, Baekhyun had slipped Tao a piece of paper under the table, saying that the king had disagreed with letting Yixing leave with them. Not only that, but the king had also stated that he didn’t want Baekhyun leaving as well. Now, Junmyeon was stressed about trying to convince the king to change his mind.

Luhan was worried, too, although Tao wouldn’t have known if the other hadn’t told him about it the day before. The telekinetic was good at hiding his feelings, reassuring Chanyeol and Tao that they would find a way to get Baekhyun and Yixing out even though Junmyeon’s actions proved that the king wasn’t budging.

Tao and Chanyeol had met Yixing already. However, Junmyeon said that he overheard the servants talking about how Yixing was berated for interacting with them, so nobody had dared to go see the healer again. Junmyeon was most affected by this out of all of them, and Tao often caught him prodding anxiously at his food during meals.

He didn’t see much of Baekhyun for the past couple of days, but he knew that Chanyeol had easily made friends with the Crown Prince. Judging by what he heard from the fire warrior’s ramblings, Chanyeol had apparently started helping Baekhyun control his power. Now Tao knew why he would occasionally see a small ball of light floating around in the hall, only to disappear a few seconds later.

In terms of training, Tao still had not made progress with controlling his power. Luhan believed that Tao’s power over time could be somewhat linked to telekinesis, so he was trying to teach Tao the same methods that he had used to learn how to lift objects with his mind. Tao didn’t think it was working, but Luhan occasionally claimed that he felt a change from the surroundings. Even though he couldn’t describe it when Tao asked, the ex-mercenary decided to trust Luhan and continued to practice.

Unfortunately, it was raining today, and the pounding of droplets against the glass windows constantly disrupted Tao’s focus. Instead of meditating like he usually would, he chose to take a walk around the palace, looking through the windows at the gray sky and watching as big, fat drops left watery trails on the clear surface.

Tao rounded the corner and flinched when he saw the sudden flash of orange light and heard the faint explosion. Recognizing the signs of Chanyeol’s power, Tao hurried forward, nervous that the fiery man was being reckless. He reached the door to the room only to be greeted by Baekhyun’s loud laughter.

“That was definitely,” Baekhyun gasped as he clutched his stomach, “not a bird! Were those supposed to be wings?”

Chanyeol was laughing as well, although his smile was more of embarrassment. “That was a bird! It had different wings, that’s all!”

“Oh, really?” Baekhyun sat up with a challenging smirk. “What’s it called then?”

“Uh,” Chanyeol swallowed nervously as he tried to think of a name on the spot, but then his eyes fell on Tao, who had been standing in the doorway the entire time, and relief spread across his face. “Tao!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Tao, and he quickly slid off his bed and bowed. “Hello! I’m sorry I didn’t notice you earlier.”

“I just got here.” Tao returned the bow, surprised at how quickly the crown prince had gone from informal to formal so quickly. “I saw Chanyeol’s fire from the corner and thought he might be doing something reckless.”

“I’m not reckless,” Chanyeol muttered.

“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” Tao said with a straight face. Baekhyun couldn’t hold back his snickers as Chanyeol scowled, kicking at the carpeted floor with the tip of his boot.

“Show Tao your bird, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun suggested.

Tao watched with interest as the red-haired man held out one hand in front of him, gathering ribbons of fire in his palm. The fire coiled and condensed into the size of Tao’s fist, and three strings of fire attached themselves to the fireball: two strings for the wings and one string for what Tao assumed to be the tail.

However, all Tao could see was a ball with three strings protruding from it.

“This…is a bird?” Tao asked dumbfoundedly. From his peripheral vision, he could see Baekhyun bite down on his lower lip, struggling to keep from sniggering.

Suddenly, the ‘bird’ exploded in Chanyeol’s hand, making the fire warrior yelp and Tao flinch. Baekhyun let out a bark of laughter, bowing his head to hide his face. When the smoke in front of Chanyeol cleared, Tao couldn’t help but join Baekhyun in his amusement. The fire user’s face was flustered with patches of soot on his nose, forehead, and cheeks. Completely embarrassed now, Chanyeol covered his face with his hands, unable to look them in the eye.

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked once he stopped laughing, “Are you burned?” He reached forward and pried Chanyeol’s hands away.

“I’m okay,” Chanyeol mumbled, still embarrassed, “My fire won’t hurt me.”

Hurried footsteps sounded outside, and a pair of servants rushed in. “Prince! Is everything alright?” one of them cried, fussing over Baekhyun. The other servant approached Chanyeol, retrieving a cloth from her dress pocket and dabbing at the blackened parts of the man’s face.

“Everything’s fine,” Baekhyun reassured as Chanyeol thanked the servant before taking the cloth and wiping at his face himself. Tao straightened up, swallowing back his laughter as he greeted the servants with a smile.

Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the room followed by the hollow rumbles of thunder. “Is it raining hard?” Baekhyun asked.

“It is, Your Highness,” the servant replied, “It appears that there is a storm approaching.” She took a tentative step towards the window of Baekhyun’s room. “Would you like me to close the curtains?”

“That would be nice, thank you. Are the seaside villages at risk of flooding?”

“Not that I know of, Your Highness,” the servant said as she made light steps towards the window, “I believe that it will be a quick storm: short with little rain.” She reached for the white curtains that were tied to the sides of the window, but then froze and gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“What’s the matter?” Baekhyun stood up from where he sat on his bed and headed over. Tao and Chanyeol followed after the latter handed the cloth back to the servant. All three of them looked out the window.

Tao’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the hungry orange flames that he could see several yards away. Beside him, Chanyeol let out a soft exclamation.

“The fire must have been caused by the storm,” the servant said, “I will go see if they need help.” With that, she hurried away with the other servant, no doubt going to help keep the fire under control.

Baekhyun suddenly moved away from the window and went to the door. “Where are you going?” Tao asked.

“That’s Yixing’s garden!” Tao and Chanyeol didn’t need any more explanation than that. They followed the Crown Prince through the halls and down the stairs. When they arrived at the site of the fire, they saw that Junmyeon and Luhan were already there, along with a crowd of servants and guards who were trying to put out the spreading fire.

Yixing was there as well, and Tao felt a rush of sympathy for the other when he saw how defeated the other looked. Junmyeon and Luhan were talking to him, trying to comfort him, yet the healer showed no sign that he heard their words. Baekhyun pushed forward, intent on heading to his half-brother’s side, but a wrinkled hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him back.

“What the–?” Baekhyun cried indignantly at the rough treatment. “Father?”

Tao and Chanyeol quickly stepped aside to allow the king to pass. The aging man walked forward, stopping behind Yixing. Junmyeon and Luhan stopped their murmurings and bowed to the royal figure. Shaking slightly, the healer turned around and lowered his head as well, half out of respect for the king and half to hide his tear-streaked face.

The king gave no verbal response, merely raising his eyes to watch as Yixing’s garden burned. One of the guards that had been working to put out the fire sidled up to his side, quietly murmuring, “Your Majesty, our efforts are not enough to douse the fire. What should we do?”

A moment passed, although it felt like a long while, before the king replied, “Let it burn.”

The cold reply elicited muffled gasps from some of the servants and a few soldiers exchanged uncertain glances. In the end, Baekhyun was the one who spoke up, voice trembling with rage.

“How can you say that!” The Crown Prince cried, eyes watering at the sight of his brother’s hard work going up in flames, “Yixing worked hard on this garden, and you’re just going to stand by and let it burn?”

“Since this is Yixing’s garden, it is his responsibility,” the king stated uncaringly, “If he cannot take care of it properly, then perhaps he should not have one.”

The onlookers began to shuffle nervously in their places, and some fixed their gazes on the floor and refused to look up. They were acting as though they had witnessed these kinds of altercations several times already.

Baekhyun was still arguing with the king, and Tao noticed that there was a faint outline of light around the prince’s frame. The agitation was manifesting itself in Baekhyun’s power, and Tao briefly worried that it might get dangerous.

“I don’t know why you’re treating Yixing like this,” Baekhyun seethed, “But the servants told me that you used to actually treat him like he is your own flesh and blood. Why the hell did you change?”

“Baek,” Yixing whispered with a horrified expression on his face, “Don’t talk like that.”

“No!” The Crown Prince yelled, “I’m sick of asking questions and getting nothing but vague answers every single damn time!”

The sharp crack of thunder drowned out the sound of the king’s palm striking Baekhyun’s face, sending the prince staggering to the side. The glow of Baekhyun’s power that was surrounding him seconds ago vanished as though it had been blown out. A stunned silence hung over the crowd, broken only by the sound of the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder.

Yixing was the first one to move, approaching his brother’s side to wrap an arm protectively around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Baek, are you okay? How bad does it hurt?”

Recovering from the shock, Chanyeol stepped forward and placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, murmuring low words to the prince and trying to get the latter to respond. To his dismay, the other stayed quiet, one hand over his reddening cheek.

“Your Majesty, please forgive Prince Baekhyun’s impertinence this time!” One of the servants – an older woman with wrinkles forming on her face – pleaded, dropping to her knees in front of the king.

For a moment, Tao could have sworn that there was a change in the king’s eyes. The brown irises turned pitch-black, shortly followed by the sclera, turning the two orbs into voids. Then, Tao blinked, and the king was back to normal. He glanced around at the others, trying to confirm what he just saw, but nobody else acted as though they had seen anything. They were too preoccupied with the Crown Prince.

The king lowered his hand, no hint of any guilt or regret on his face. “A prince should not be speaking in that manner,” he stated, “Especially not towards a king.”

Junmyeon started forward, but Luhan grabbed his arm and pulled him back. The king turned and stalked off, followed by the pair of soldiers that had arrived with him. An awkward and heavy silence draped itself over the crowd as no one knew what to do or say now that the king was gone.

Finally, Junmyeon cleared his throat and said, “I’m going to put out the fire. Please excuse me.” He gently pushed his way through the crowd and stepped out underneath the pouring rain. The water near him began to gather in thin ribbons as he headed into the billowing flames.

“I’ll go help him.” Chanyeol gave Baekhyun one last comforting pat on the back and followed Junmyeon into the burning garden, absorbing the fire into himself as he went.

Luhan turned to the servants and guards who were still hanging around and thanked them for their help. With the telekinetic’s coaxing, the crowd gradually dispersed until only the four of them remained. Once they were alone, Tao and Luhan approached Baekhyun and Yixing. The latter’s hand was glowing slightly, signaling that Yixing’s power was at work, healing the bruise that was beginning to show on Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Are you okay?” Luhan asked softly.

“We’re fine,” Baekhyun mumbled, one hand clutching Yixing’s free hand for silent comfort.

Nobody really knew what to say or do after that. It didn’t take long for Junmyeon and Chanyeol to return with the fire completely extinguished. They asked the same question, to which the brothers replied with the same answer, except this time, Yixing asked, “Can we leave tomorrow?”

Tao was stunned at the sudden request, and judging by their expressions, so were the others. “I thought you wanted us to convince the king first,” Junmyeon said, blinking rapidly.

Yixing tightened his grip on Baekhyun’s hand. “That was before today.”

Junmyeon ran a hand through his damp hair and glanced at Luhan, who shrugged. “I suppose we could,” the water user said slowly, “But what if the king finds us? How are we supposed to get our horses from the stables without the king finding out? What will we tell him?”

“We’ll just tell him that we’re leaving,” Yixing said with a newfound determination that Tao had never seen before. “He can’t afford to stop us since we’re part of the prophecy.”

In the end, the six of them agreed to meet in the main hall after breakfast with their belongings. They would leave after notifying the king because Junmyeon feared that disappearing without a word would antagonize him, and Baekhyun would share a horse with Luhan and Yixing would share with Junmyeon until they could stop and get two more horses for the brothers.

With their somewhat flimsy plan in place, they parted ways. Yixing headed for his room in the servants’ quarters, and Baekhyun retreated to his room. Tao, Luhan, Junmyeon, and Chanyeol each returned to their own quarters. Tao laid awake in bed for hours that night, silently fretting over the outcome of tomorrow as he listened to the thrumming of the rain.

He didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep until he jolted awake to the sound of someone hammering frantically on his door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter of a double update. There will be a longer note at the end of the next chapter.


	12. The Evil Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a DOUBLE UPDATE! Make sure you read the previous chapter before you read this one!

Tao cursed as he finally untangled himself from the sheets and grabbed his sword from where it was placed next to the headboard. Unsheathing it, Tao went up to the door and opened it, holding his weapon in front of him in case the person on the other side was hostile.

He was surprised to see Luhan stumble inside. The other was obviously not expecting the door to open then and tripped over his own feet, nearly impaling himself on Tao’s sword. Both warriors let out cries of shock, and Tao quickly sheathed his weapon.

“Sorry, Luhan. I thought you were an intruder!”

Despite having almost died, Luhan waved off Tao’s flustered and apology and pointed at the various daggers and knives that Tao had put on the table. “Get your things. Yixing and Baekhyun need our help.”

Tao was confused, but he obeyed anyway. He dressed rapidly and began tucking knives under his sleeves and into his boots. “What happened? Did they get caught?”

“A few minutes earlier, Baekhyun came banging on Junmyeon’s door, and the noise woke me up, too,” Luhan explained as the two of them dashed down the corridor, “He said that he and Yixing were together in Yixing’s garden when three of the king’s personal guards came and arrested Yixing.”

“They what?!”

“I can’t really believe it either,” Luhan said, stopping to apologize to a servant that he almost bumped into, “Then, Baekhyun said that the guards said that the king ordered for Yixing to be publicly hung in the gallows!”

“Where is Baekhyun now?” Tao asked, realizing that none of the others were with them, “And Junmyeon and Chanyeol?”

“Junmyeon woke up Chanyeol before I woke you and the two of them went with Baekhyun to see the king. We’re heading to the gallows in case the king decides to hang Yixing anyway. The other three will come find us.”

“You know where the gallows are?”

“Junmyeon found the gallows when he was taking a walk a few days ago, and he told me where to go. It’s actually pretty close to the stables.” Luhan ducked into a different hallway, dragging Tao with him. “This way.”

Suddenly, someone stepped into their path. The two of them skidded to a halt to see a nervous-looking servant standing in front of them. The young woman wrung her hands as she stated in a whispery voice, “There is a shortcut to the gallows. Follow me.”

Luhan and Tao exchanged hesitant looks before catching up with the servant. “How much time will we save?” Luhan questioned.

“Enough,” the servant said.

“So why are you helping us?”

“This is not the king my family pledged our loyalty to,” she replied firmly, “The old king would never strike Prince Baekhyun or throw Prince Yixing in prison. He has become unreasonable, and something needs to be done.”

The trio arrived in front of a large painting of a golden sparrow. Three more servants greeted them and grabbed the edges of the piece of art. Tao and Luhan watched in awe as they lifted the canvas off the wall, revealing a hidden passage behind it.

“This is a corridor designed to allow the royal family to escape in case of trouble. Just follow it all the way down, and it’ll take you out of the castle. Once you get outside, go left, and you should be able to see the gallows.”

One of the male servants boosted Luhan up and into the passageway. Tao followed quickly, letting the young man push at his feet while Luhan pulled at his arms. After both of them made it through, the servants picked up the painting, ready to put it back in place.

“Good luck,” the girl who led them here whispered before the painting covered the passage, plunging Tao and Luhan into darkness.

They had no choice but to blindly feel their way through the corridor. Tao was thankful that the floors and walls were carved smoothly so that there was nothing to trip over. Luhan was in front of him, and the sound of the telekinetic’s breathing guided Tao through the black passage.

After what felt like an eternity, Luhan spotted a faint glow several feet ahead and let out a triumphant exclamation. Hearing the other quicken his pace, Tao sped up as well, and the two of them stopped beneath the source of light.

It turned out that there was a pothole, and after checking that the street was devoid of people, Luhan and Tao climbed out of the corridor and out onto the street. Using his power, Luhan put the lid back into place quietly, and the two of them rushed off to find the gallows.

The citizens of Fluor were already at the gallows when Tao and Luhan arrived. A line of guards stood between the wooden platform and the spectators, who were talking curiously to each other. Tao shivered at the sight of the noose that had already been tied to the wooden beam, hanging over a trapdoor in the platform.

“Can you see the others?” Luhan panted, standing on his toes to try and see past the mass of heads. Tao, being the taller of the two, scanned the crowd but didn’t see any sign of Junmyeon, Chanyeol, or Baekhyun.

“What if Yixing’s going to be hung, and they’re not here?” Tao asked fearfully, “Will we have to save Yixing without them?”

“I suppose so,” Luhan said uncertainly, “I don’t think we’d be able to escape the guards though, especially since you can’t use your power yet, and my power isn’t the best at offense or defense.”

The two of them shifted nervously in their places, uncertain of what they should do without the others present. “In your vision, were Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Junmyeon here when they brought Yixing out?” Luhan asked. When Tao nodded, he sighed in relief, “Then they should be here, and we’ll get out together. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Sure enough, Tao saw a flash of red and looked up to see Chanyeol running into the gallows as fast as he could. Baekhyun and Junmyeon were on his heels. Luhan saw them as well and rushed to meet them.

“We couldn’t do it,” Junmyeon puffed as he slowed to a stop, “We weren’t even allowed to see the king. Tried talking to him through the door, but his personal guards pushed us away.”

“Do we have a plan for escaping after we get Yixing then?” Luhan asked as the group of five pushed their way closer to the line of guards.

Before Junmyeon could answer, someone yelled, “His Majesty is here!”

Excited murmurs broke out among the people at the sight of the king, and many went to bow, but the king waved his hand dismissively. Anyone who had gone down on one knee quickly straightened up. Quiet with anticipation, the crowd awaited the king’s speech.

The aging man cleared his throat and spoke. “Citizens, I bring before you a man who–” he suddenly cut himself off, mouth still halfway open and throat bobbing as he swallowed. One of his personal soldiers leaned in to say something, and the king jumped at the gesture.

Whispers broke out from the crowd and were silenced when the king called out them again.

“Citizens, I bring before you a man who has committed a heinous crime against the crown and the country of Sinseye.” The king’s powerful voice resonated throughout the plaza, but Tao couldn’t help but wonder why there was a shakiness to it. “For his actions, he shall be publicly hung, and his body shall be thrown to the dogs.”

“You know, Junmyeon, a plan would be really nice right now,” Luhan whispered urgently.

Junmyeon was once again interrupted, this time by the clanging of the iron door behind the wooden platform as it opened. Two guards appeared, dragging a struggling Yixing between them, and Tao was immediately thrown into the grasp of his most recent vision.

“I have done nothing against the crown nor the country!” Yixing yelled as he resisted with all his might. Unfortunately, the strength of the guards was greater than his, and it wasn’t long before they succeeded in pulling him up the stairs and onto the wooden platform. “Let me go!”

This time, Tao was prepared, and he didn’t stumble when Baekhyun screamed and shoved past him. The crown prince was blocked by the line of guards, and though Baekhyun tried his hardest to push through, the guards held fast.

“I am the crown prince of Sinseye. You will let me pass!” Baekhyun spat but was ignored.

“Junmyeon! Plan!” Luhan yelled.

“Uh.” Junmyeon looked panicked. “Luhan, go distract the king!” With that, the water user slipped past Tao, running to towards Yixing and shouting as loud as he could.

It was complete chaos at this point. Confused Sinsinian citizens cried out as they were shoved, and some glared at Junmyeon and Baekhyun for causing a disruption. Some watched Baekhyun and Junmyeon struggle against the soldiers who were holding them away from the platform with interest. Others were calling for Yixing to be hung quickly so that maybe the mess would die down and they could go home.

Tao had no idea what he was supposed to do, so he watched as Yixing momentarily broke free and threw himself in Junmyeon’s direction, only to be yanked back by the guards. They dragged the healer back to the noose and looped the rope around Yixing’s neck.

As Chanyeol joined Baekhyun and Junmyeon against the line of guards, Tao turned and noticed Luhan making his way towards the king, who was still sitting in his chair to the side. There was a sickening smile on the royal figure’s face as he raised one hand and motioned downwards.

The trapdoor beneath Yixing’s feet dropped, and the healer fell, only to be caught by the rope around his neck. His fingers scrabbled uselessly against his neck in an attempt to loosen the noose as he gagged for air. He was only lucky that his neck didn’t break with the drop.

Almost instinctively, Tao grabbed a dagger and threw it. There wasn’t enough time for anyone to react before the blade sliced through the rope and Yixing fell to the ground, choking, gasping, and still scratching at his neck.

At the same time that Tao threw his dagger, Chanyeol set himself on fire. The living inferno successfully distracted the guards and allowed Baekhyun and Junmyeon to slip through and rush to Yixing’s side. They knelt next to the healer, and Junmyeon loosened the noose and slipped it off Yixing’s neck while Baekhyun fretted over his brother.

Seeing that Yixing was taken care of, Tao decided to follow Luhan. The telekinetic was being attacked by the king’s personal servants while the king himself looked furious. Suddenly, the king hunched over, and something black burst forth from his back.

The thing resembled a human even though its lower half was still in the king’s body. Its arms were long, and its fingers were clawed. Several black appendages protruded from its twisted back and attached themselves to the surroundings, destroying part of the castle wall in the process. Tao watched in frozen horror as the thing let out a distorted and spine-chilling scream. The now-unconscious king hung limply from its waist like a doll.

The creature’s black, papery skin stretched taut over its face as it let out another cry. Then, with one smooth movement, it swung its hand and sent Luhan flying into the castle wall. The telekinetic hit the wall with a nasty crunch, dropped to the ground, and didn’t move.

“Luhan!”

“Tao, move!” Junmyeon bellowed. Tao didn’t have time to react before he felt bony fingers wrap around his waist and lift him off the ground. He wriggled around, trying to squirm free, but froze when he came face-to-face with the thing.

The creature stared at him for a moment with its milky eyes. Then, to Tao’s surprise, it spoke in a deep, hollow voice. “ _So you’re the time warrior…the king would be pleased to know that you’ve been caught._ ”

“What…the hell?” Tao gasped as the thing suddenly tightened its grasp.

“ _His Majesty believes that you could be a wonderful asset to his army,_ ” it sneered, releasing a puff of putrid air in Tao’s face, “ _He gave me the task of bringing you to him. In fact, he also told me to dispose of the one with the unicorn mark because a healer always proves to be troublesome…”_

The creature trailed off as he looked down at the group. “ _Ah, if it isn’t Kim Junmyeon. I haven’t seen you since you betrayed His Majesty._ ”

Junmyeon scowled as he summoned water. “You’re with Moltuva. You possessed the king, didn’t you? That’s why the servants reported a sudden change in the king’s behavior.”

“ _It was so easy,”_ the thing sighed, “ _He was in so much pain after the Queen died that taking over his body was effortless. After that, I just had to do something about his bastard child, and I did. I made him feel so worthless, so hated, and so unneeded, but at the same time, it wasn’t me. It was the king who said all those words to him. I doubt he could wake up ten years from now and not remember the words his father spat at him every day.”_

“You bastard,” Junmyeon growled at the same time Tao unsheathed the sword strapped to his back and buried the blade in the creature’s hand.

The thing screamed but didn’t let go, squeezing Tao until he let go of the sword. “ _You vermin! How dare you strike me with your pitiful weapon!”_ It grasped the handle of the sword and wrenched it out, tossing it to the side. “ _I’d kill you here and now, but His Majesty wouldn’t be very pleased with me if I did.”_ The creature turned back to where Junmyeon and Chanyeol stood in front of Yixing protectively. _“But he would be very pleased if I took care of the bastard child, so I guess you’ll just have to watch your friends die.”_

It raised a clawed hand and brought it down. Junmyeon grabbed Yixing and they dove out of the way along with Chanyeol, who was still on fire. Almost immediately after, the thing’s other hand came swinging. Junmyeon shoved Yixing out of the way before he was thrown into the wooden platform. Seeing that the water warrior was down, the creature lifted its hand again, ready to deliver a fatal blow before it suddenly recoiled with a shriek.

Tao looked down to see Baekhyun, who had picked up Tao’s sword and had driven it deep into the thing’s belly. However, as Tao looked closer, he saw that the blade was glowing in a faint golden light.

The crown prince yanked the sword out of the creature’s stomach, panting from the effort. “The only bastard here is you!” Baekhyun snarled.

The wound that Baekhyun inflicted obviously pained it a lot more than Tao’s did. The creature couldn’t even muster a comprehensible answer as it clutched at the puncture, which was oozing a disgusting black sludge. Seeing that it was distracted, Chanyeol sent a fireball at it, sending the creature up in flames.

Tao felt himself hit the ground hard as the creature released him. Dizzily, he sat up to see Baekhyun disregard the fire and drive the sword into the thing’s stomach again, eliciting another pained howl from it. The flames licked at Baekhyun’s arms and face, but he did not falter, choosing to throw all his weight into the sword.

With a snarl, the monster grabbed Baekhyun with its flaming hand and pulled the prince away from its stomach. Fortunately, Baekhyun was still holding onto Tao’s sword, and before the thing could do anything more, Baekhyun swung the sword and sliced its hand clean off.

There was an inhuman screech as the monster flailed, scratching at its glowing wounds. Then, the light engulfed the creature, and the thing shattered into a cloud of pieces. Those pieces crumbled away and were scattered by the wind, and all that remained of it was the king’s bloody body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I didn't update last weekend, so I decided to post two chapters this weekend. Hope you guys like it!
> 
> Anyway, Exo's stay in Sinseye is coming to an end. The reason behind the king's cruel actions towards Yixing has been revealed: he was possessed by the Moltuvian spy that was mentioned a couple times in previous chapters! But the fight dealt damage onto Exo's side as well, mostly towards Luhan and Junmyeon. Hopefully, they'll be okay. I wonder how the Moltuvian king will react when he hears about his spy's death. He won't be pleased, that's for sure.
> 
> Thanks for reading and being patient with me! I'll see you guys soon ^^
> 
> 'Til next chapter!


	13. In Regards to Jonghyun

Due to SHINee's Jonghyun's recent death, I will not be writing for a while. Please take the time to remember Jonghyun as the talented and amazing idol that he was. I will see you all in a bit.

Stay safe, guys. If you ever feel trapped, don't be ashamed to get help.


	14. The Recovering Sparrow

Tao winced with every breath he took as the bruises scattered across his torso throbbed painfully. Limping as quickly as he could, the warrior passed Chanyeol, who was lying on the ground like a dead fish, and made his way to where Junmyeon laid prostrate with an anxious Yixing hovering over him.

“I’m okay. Just bruises and a fracture here and there,” Junmyeon wheezed as Tao approached. “Go check on Luhan. He still hasn’t moved.”

Yixing still looked uncertain, so Tao gave him a little nudge in Luhan’s direction. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

That was enough for Yixing to pull away and resettle next to Luhan’s still form a few feet away. Groaning at the pain, Tao sat down beside Junmyeon, who was struggling to breathe as evenly as he could. “This really sucks.”

The latter inhaled sharply through his nose. “You can say that again.” Junmyeon glanced to the side, and his eyes widened. “Oh, no.”

Tao followed his gaze and saw Leeteuk standing in the entranceway of the ruined gallows with a group of soldiers behind him. Their faces harbored expressions of pure shock, which eventually transformed into horror when their eyes fell on the king.

“What in the name of the planet?” One of the knights gasped, surveying the damage done to the palace walls.

Tao watched as Baekhyun rushed over to the group, hoping that the crown prince would be able to explain what happened to the soldiers. Yixing was still kneeling beside Luhan, both hands on either side of the telekinetic’s head. A faint glow was enveloping Luhan’s head, signaling that Yixing was healing him. Chanyeol was standing now, making his way to sit on Junmyeon’s other side.

“If you’re hurt, you should ask Yixing to heal you after he’s done with Luhan,” Junmyeon rasped.

“I didn’t get hurt, miraculously,” Chanyeol said wryly, “I think that you need to be treated after Luhan though. How can you even breathe?”

Suddenly, Yixing released Luhan and stood up, walking back to Junmyeon. “Luhan should be fine. He got knocked out by the impact of hitting the wall, and he had a fractured skull. I fixed it up for him, but I’m not sure if he has a concussion. We’ll see how he is when he wakes up.” He nudged Chanyeol to the side and settled down next to Junmyeon’s chest. “Now, where does it hurt the most for you?”

As Yixing checked over Junmyeon, Tao forced himself back to his feet and made his way to the king’s body. He crouched next to the aging man, whose back was covered in bloody gashes from where the black monster had ripped its way out. More of the red liquid pooled at his mouth, and then, Tao noticed an eye twitch.

“Guys,” Tao said aloud, straightening up and looking around at the others, “Guys, he’s still alive.”

The first one to rush over was Baekhyun, shortly followed by Leeteuk and the knights with Chanyeol bringing up the rear. Tao stood out of the way as they crowded around the king.

“Your Majesty?” Leeteuk breathed.

The king’s mouth opened slightly, and his eyes opened, eliciting gasps from the soldiers. “We need a doctor!” Leeteuk cried, “Somebody go get–”

 The captain was interrupted by a cough from the king, who feebly moved his hand in a grasping motion, trying to grab something he couldn’t reach. “No…need…my sons…”

Leeteuk hesitated before turning around and beckoning to Yixing. “Yixing! Your father wishes to speak with you.”

The healer hesitated for a bit before getting to his feet at Junmyeon’s encouragement. The water warrior followed, still clutching at his chest but Tao could tell that he was having a significantly easier time breathing after Yixing mended his fractured ribs. The soldiers parted to allow Yixing to kneel beside Baekhyun in front of the king, and Junmyeon stumbled over to the unconscious Luhan, keeping an eye on him in case the latter woke up.

Yixing and Baekhyun exchanged looks before Baekhyun spoke up. “Father?”

The series of coughs that answered them prompted Yixing to reach out, ready to heal the wounds on the king’s back, but a wizening hand grabbed his, cradling it in a desperate hold.

“Xing-xing,” the king breathed when he stopped coughing, “Xing-xing…I am so sorry…”

Yixing looked to be at a loss for words, but the king continued to speak, blood bubbling from his mouth with every word.

“I…could not protect you two,” the dying king gasped, “I have failed…as your father…and as king. I should not have let it in.”

“Don’t say that,” Yixing suddenly whispered, eyes wet with unshed tears. Baekhyun stared at the ground silently as Yixing leaned forward, trying to place his hands on their father’s back. “Let me heal you. I can do it.”

“No point.” The king feebly pushed away Yixing’s hand.

Tao heard a murmuring and looked up to see people gathered at the ruined entrance. Servants and civilians looked at the scene with confusion and worry. One of the servants – the girl who showed Tao and Luhan the shortcut – broke away from the crowd and hurried to Junmyeon’s side. Luhan appeared to be awake, judging by how Junmyeon and the servant seemed to be speaking to him.

“Escort the citizens back to their homes,” Leeteuk ordered the soldiers, who saluted before hurrying away. As they ushered the crowd away, Leeteuk turned to Tao and Chanyeol. “The servants can show you to the doctor’s chamber. Please follow them into the castle. Make sure your friend gets checked over.”

Chanyeol looked as though he was going to argue, but Tao tugged him away. As they left, Tao glanced back at Baekhyun and Yixing. The crown prince was clutching at the king’s hand while Yixing was openly crying now. Tao felt bad about leaving them, but he understood that Leeteuk had wanted the king to speak privately with his sons.

Junmyeon and Luhan were already being led away when Leeteuk beckoned to another servant. Tao and Chanyeol followed this servant into the castle and through a long hallway. The pain from bruises continued to stab at Tao with every step, and only grew as the adrenaline from the fight faded. A scholarly man greeted them at one of the doors and gestured for Tao to follow him. The warrior was apprehensive when the doctor asked him to remove his shirt, but the sight of Chanyeol standing outside offered some comfort. Tao’s bruises were examined, and the doctor dabbed some soothing cream on the worst ones.

Once the doctor dismissed him, Tao put his shirt back on and stepped outside. Chanyeol was waiting for him, and the two of them headed to Luhan’s room. Junmyeon was already there, watching over the sleeping Luhan. He looked up as Tao and Chanyeol entered and put a finger to his lips.

“Is it bad?” Chanyeol whispered.

“There’s no concussion, but the doctor said he still needs rest,” Junmyeon answered quietly. The three of them settled at the small round table in a pensive silence. Junmyeon stared at the smooth, brown surface of the table while Chanyeol rested his head in his hands. Tao looked around and realized that his sword was still with Baekhyun.

“You knew that monster, didn’t you?” Chanyeol asked when the silence dragged on, “It said it hadn’t seen you since you betrayed the Moltuvian king.”

Tao looked up, interested in Junmyeon’s response. The water user sighed, “Yes, I know him. He’s called the Reaper King. Specializes in possession of living beings by latching onto their souls. He was the first subject that the Moltuvian king managed to recruit.”

“But he’s dead now, right? Baekhyun killed him,” Tao pointed out.

“No, he’s not,” Junmyeon admitted, “Baekhyun only managed to send the Reaper King back to the spirit realm. He’s still alive, and if the Moltuvian king decides to summon him again, then we’ll have to fight him once more.”

Tao’s hand immediately flew to his torso, wincing as he imagined himself getting bruises across his chest and sides again.

“We’ll have to be more careful,” Junmyeon continued, “I’m worried that the Moltuvian king will send someone else to get Tao now that the Reaper King failed.”

“Like Yifan and Minseok?” Chanyeol asked.

Junmyeon smiled sadly. “Exactly. When Luhan and I left Moltuva, Yifan and Minseok were the king’s strongest soldiers. They probably still are.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. A servant entered, bowing to the occupants with a sword clutched in his hands. “Captain Leeteuk wishes to inform you that today’s incident will be taken care of by the Sinsinian army.” He turned to Tao and offered the sword. “Crown Prince Baekhyun asked me to return this to you.”

“How is the king?” Junmyeon asked as Tao accepted the weapon.

The servant hesitated and lowered his head again. “The king has passed away.”

With that, the servant left, shutting the door with a small _click_. Junmyeon sat back down tiredly, rubbing at his temples.

“The king refused treatment for the cuts on his back.”

“That’s not why he died.” Junmyeon’s voice was muffled from where he buried his face in his hands. “The Reaper King kills his host no matter what because it’s the victim’s soul that he latches onto. When he leaves the body, he drags the soul with him.”

“I hope Baekhyun and Yixing will be alright,” Chanyeol murmured.

“Baekhyun is king now, isn’t he?” Tao asked.

Junmyeon nodded, and the three of them fell into silence again. They all understood that Baekhyun would not be able to follow them on their journey anymore since he now had a kingdom to take care of. If Baekhyun had to stay, then perhaps Yixing would stay as well.

“We should stay for the king’s funeral,” Luhan suddenly said, startling the other three.

“Since when have you been awake?” Junmyeon said, getting up from his seat and hurrying to the bedside, “How’s your head feeling?”

“Better,” Luhan croaked, sitting up slowly, “Woke up while you were talking about how the Reaper King kills all of his victims.” He absentmindedly touched the bandage that was wrapped around his head. “What happened after I got knocked out?”

“Baekhyun killed the Reaper King somehow,” Chanyeol perked up at the sound of somewhat-good news.

Luhan looked shocked. “Really?”

“He did,” Junmyeon said proudly, “Stabbed the monster twice and sent it back to the spirit realm.”

“Wow,” Luhan said in a dazed voice, “Shown up by someone who’s barely used their power before. I can’t believe it.” He settled himself on the edge of the bed as Junmyeon sat back down at the table. “And Baekhyun is king now. Wow,” he repeated.

“The king of Moltuva is also after Tao, probably for his powers,” Junmyeon added, “We need to find the others quickly so we stand a better chance against the Moltuvian forces.”

Luhan bobbed his head in a series of nods. His eyes were closed, and it was clear that the head injury was still affecting him. The telekinetic’s eyes only flew open when there was another knock on the door.

“Come in!” Junmyeon called.

The door creaked open, and Baekhyun poked his head in. The new king’s eyes were red-rimmed, his face sported light burns, and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Hello. I came to check up on you four. Have your injuries been seen to?”

“We’re fine,” they all reassured Baekhyun. The king’s eyes fell on Luhan, who still looked beat-up.

“Headache?”

“A little,” Luhan admitted.

“Yixing is making a medicine for you. He guessed that you would wake up with a headache,” Baekhyun smiled. Luhan heaved relieved thanks before he laid back down, arm over his eyes to block out the light.

“If it isn’t too much to ask,” Junmyeon began hesitantly, “when will the funeral be?”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Baekhyun replied, “Are you planning to attend?”

The water user nodded. “We will all be there.”

At that, the new monarch nodded and excused himself, saying he needed to speak with Leeteuk before closing the door. The four of them didn’t say anything for a long while. Chanyeol lightly tapped his fingers on the wooden tabletop while Junmyeon fiddled with the end of his shirt. Tao didn’t know when he fell asleep, but he was woken by Yixing, who had arrived with Luhan’s medicine. The healer looked exhausted as he handed the cup over to Luhan, who drank it gratefully.

They exchanged words, trying to offer comfort and reassurance behind awkward sentences. Yixing’s neck still held the faint marks of a rope. The area was raw, most likely from when the rope chafed against skin and how Yixing kept rubbing at it.

“Don’t aggravate it,” Junmyeon said softly when Yixing made to touch the mark again. The water user reached out as though he wanted to physically stop the other, but then lowered his arm, afraid that he would appear too bold.

Yixing smiled in slight embarrassment and excused himself, backing out of the room after saying goodbye to the four of them. After the door was closed and the sound of Yixing’s footsteps faded, Luhan crossed his arms and looked at Junmyeon, a smirk playing on his lips. When Junmyeon tried to question him, Luhan merely shook his head and turned away, signaling that he wanted to sleep.

Tao and Chanyeol gave each other confused looks, having no idea what was going through the telekinetic’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And with that, the group's stay in Sinseye is coming to an end. The monster's name has been revealed, but what if the Moltuvian king decides to summon him again? Will Baekhyun be able to banish the Reaper King again if that happens? Will Yixing stay behind in Sinseye with Baekhyun, or will he choose to travel with the group?  
> Also....LUHAN KNOWS  
> Since they're finished in Sinseye, Exo can now head north to Prigonia or south to Trost. Hopefully, they'll find more members whichever way they go. Good luck to them!
> 
> 'Til next chapter!


	15. News for Exoplanet

Hey, guys. How are you all doing? I hope the new year is treating you well so far. I’m sorry that this isn’t a chapter that you guys have probably been waiting for, but I bring news about this story, and after stressing over how I was going to tell you guys for a couple days, I decided to just say it.

I’m rewriting Exoplanet.

Hear me out. When I first came up with Exoplanet, the plotline was completely different. Let’s call that the old plot. I did some planning for the old plot, and I liked what I came up with. It’s still a fantasy/adventure MAMA AU, but there were differences in the setting, the background, and pretty much everything else. However, I still liked the old plot a lot, and I really looked forward to writing it.

But one day, I suddenly thought that the old plot wasn’t good enough, and I came up with the plotline for the Exoplanet you guys know. Let’s call this the new plot. Honestly, I don’t even remember why I decided to change the story or why I grew to dislike the original idea I had. After writing more than ten chapters for this, I feel like this isn’t what I thought it would be. I always feel like there is something lacking with this story, and the fact that I don’t have a plan for this plotline (yeah, I’ve been winging it the entire time lol) only solidified the feeling that what I’m writing isn’t good enough.

The more I think about the new plot, the more I’m unsatisfied with it. I’m going to list a few problems here:

                -This story is mostly in Tao’s POV, so it would make sense for Taoris to be the main pairing here. However, with the way the story is currently heading, Taoris will barely have time to develop before the story ends.

                -I always have a feeling of paranoia that I’m leaving out some important detail, and I won’t know I left it out until the story is already finished.

                -This story takes place in a medieval setting, but writing stories in which I need to do a lot of research to get it to be as accurate as possible was never my forte.

 

I’m not giving up this story completely! I repeat, I’M NOT GIVING UP THIS STORY COMPLETELY! I’m merely going to rewrite with the old plot. I’m leaving this version up, and I will probably write a chapter that tells what I had in mind for this. Aside from that, I’ll also put up a link to the rewrite as soon as I finish the first chapter, but other than that, there will be no more updates for this story.

Again, I’m sorry to put you guys through this when many of you were already invested in this story, but please let me be selfish and ask you to support me and my decision.

For those who have stuck with me throughout this, thank you so much. To my two friends who supported me on this decision, thank you, too. I hope I will see you all in my rewrite.

See you guys around,  
xAoneko


	16. Conclusion

 

Even though Baekhyun is now king of Sinseye, he passes the title off to Leeteuk so that he and Yixing can travel with the group. They move to Trost and meet the king in Rabnadam, who tells them that maybe the witch living in the marsh can help. The group of six search the Witch’s Marsh and eventually finds her, but she turns out to be an elf. She helps Tao give his power a little boost, and he finally manages to start using his power, although his control is still weak. The witch then directs them to Thesius.

The king of Thesius tells the six of them to help clear out the kelpie overpopulation in the Kelpie Wetlands if they want information on any possible Exo members. The group agrees, but while they’re clearing out some kelpies, one grabs Tao and drags him underwater and away from the others. Tao ends up being saved by Yifan, who had been sent to Thesius for reconnaissance. Luckily for Tao, Yifan does not see his mark, and the two part without exchanging names or anything.

After joining up with the others, they head back to Waterfell, where the king tells them of a pair of thieves in a village northwest of the capital. They head there and one of the restaurants that they eat in tries to charge them more money than they owe, but Jongin arrives and scolds the owner. He then steals Yixing’s bag of herbs that the healer brought with him from Sinseye, but the group does not realize it until Jongin is long gone. They go back to the restaurant and Baekhyun asks the bartender for Jongin’s residence, which the bartender reveals after Baekhyun hands over three pieces of gold.

The six of them head over to confront Jongin, but they meet Jongdae instead. It turns out that Jongin and Jongdae live with and take care of this old lady called Dahlia, who had taken them in when they were children. Jongdae offers a deal: they would a two-on-two fight. If Jongdae and Jongin won, they would keep Yixing’s medicine. If they lost, then they would return it. Chanyeol and Baekhyun take up the challenge.

Jongdae and Jongin end up winning, but they still return the medicine, saying that they only needed one kind of herb for Dahlia. Junmyeon tries to convince the two thieves to join the group, but Jongdae refuses for two reasons: he wants to look after Dahlia, and he hates the fact that his destiny was chosen for him. Jongin decides to stay with Jongdae.

After leaving Thesius, the group of six agrees to tackle the monster country Prigonia. They pass through the Swamp of the Fae to get to Heilmet, and the faeries take a liking to Baekhyun and befriend him. In Heilmet, the Prigonian king tells the group to search the outskirts of Prigonia since those villages tend to keep to themselves. Exo has a short skirmish with the werewolves of Werewolf Forest before arriving at a village at the base of the Vesuvian Mountain Range.

The villagers are unwelcoming to the group, saying that their powers are signs of evil and abnormality. They chase the six into the mountains, and Exo ends up hiding and getting lost in a maze of tunnels. The group gets separated from each other, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol run into Kyungsoo, who threatens to kill Baekhyun unless Chanyeol took his companions out the cave.

After much convincing and pleading, Kyungsoo believes that the group isn’t here to hurt him, and he lets Baekhyun go. By this time, the others have found Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and they worry about how to leave the cave without being seen by the villagers camping the base of the mountain. Kyungsoo states that they could simply walk out if they wanted.

He takes the lead and the group of seven walks out of the cave. They are immediately assaulted with spears and arrows from the hostile Prigonian villagers, but Kyungsoo summons stone walls to block the weapons. He then intimidates the villagers into running away, and they head back to Heilmet, where they get word that Moltuvian forces are gathering near Cassius.

Deciding to forego searching for the last member for now, Exo heads towards Cassius. As they are almost about to cross the border, Jongin appears out of nowhere and falls onto Kyungsoo, resulting in a small scuffle. Once everyone is calmed down, Jongin reveals that Moltuva attacked Thesius shortly after the group left. Jongdae has been captured by the enemy, and Dahlia was murdered. The group of now eight people continue on their path to Cassius.

Not long after they settle in the desert, the Moltuvian army invades. The undead and the Cassian army clash, and Exo joins the fight to help Cassius. However, Junmyeon and Kyungsoo are hindered by the desert: Junmyeon because there is barely any water, and Kyungsoo because the grains of sand don’t provide much protection against attacks. Cassius is slowly losing the fight when Yifan swoops overhead and incinerates a good portion of the army.

Towards the end of the fight, Yifan finds Tao and is about to kill him but hesitates when he recognizes Tao from Thesius. Junmyeon pleads with Yifan to let Tao go, to which Yifan asks if Tao is part of the prophecy. It almost appears as though Yifan is going to release Tao, but Baekhyun stumbles on the scene and instinctively attacks Yifan. Enraged, Yifan strikes back and takes Tao to the Moltuvian castle. There, Tao is imprisoned in the dungeon with Jongdae.

Minseok sends them food and water, and he calls Jongdae “Thunder Boy” while Jongdae calls him “Frosty.” A few days pass before reports come in, saying that the other Exo members are attacking Moltuva. Luhan, Baekhyun, and Jongin arrive in the dungeons to break Jongdae and Tao out. However, before Jongin can teleport them out, Minseok freezes him. Jongin does manage to escape in the end, but every other member, with the exceptions of Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, are captured.

The prisoners are brought before the king, and it is finally revealed that Minseok and Yifan are helping the enemy because the king has Yifan’s sister and Minseok’s mother captive and threatens to kill them if Minseok and Yifan do not obey him. However, Yixing reveals that the sister and the mother are both already dead. The revelation causes Yifan and Minseok to rebel against the king, but their efforts are squashed by the king’s necromancy and the brute force of the orcish army. Yifan takes an arrow to the shoulder and falls from the tower, and Minseok encases himself in a protective layer of ice after receiving several wounds. The rest of Exo is sent back to the dungeons.

It isn’t long before they’re brought before the king again, and this time, the king tortures Yixing to the brink of death. As the king presses a red-hot poker onto Yixing’s skin, Tao notices someone unscrewing the black chandelier above the king’s head. The chandelier falls, but the king manages to move out of the way in time, and Yixing is teleported away by Jongin. Within the next second, something heavy crashes into the side of the tower, and the stone wall is torn down to reveal Yifan with Kyungsoo and Chanyeol on his back.

While Kyungsoo tackles the Moltuvian king, Yifan attacks the orcs that were in the room. Chanyeol and the stranger who dropped the chandelier go around freeing the other Exo members, and Jongin starts teleporting the injured members out of the castle. When they start trying to thaw out Minseok, the king casts a curse on Kyungsoo, which renders the latter unconscious. He then attacks Chanyeol, grabbing onto the fire user’s wrist. Luhan pushes the king away and Jongin teleports Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Minseok away. Luhan, Tao, and Junmyeon escape on Yifan’s back. They arrive in a forest in the southern tip of Atheria, and the stranger who helped them introduces himself as Sehun and confesses that he had been following the group since they left Sinseye.

Sehun leads the group to find the elves, who take the group in and treat their wounds. Yixing and Kyungsoo show no signs of waking up, so they are kept in the medical bay. The others meet the elven queen, Galamacia, after they get settled in. As time passes, Chanyeol gets more irritable, and after he loses his patience with Baekhyun, the elves examine him and find out that he had been cursed, and the curse was preventing him from using his power, resulting in a build-up of magic in his system. They set to work to break the curse.

The Atherian king pays the elves a visit, and while he welcomes most of the Exo members, he shuns Yifan and Minseok, calling them unworthy of being a part of the prophecy because they served the enemy. Some of the Exo members try to defend Yifan and Minseok, but the king refuses to let up. In the end, Galamacia orders the king to leave.

In the time Exo spends with the elves, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Yixing make full recoveries. They forgive Yifan and Minseok, and the twelve grow closer as they train together under the elves’ guidance. Meanwhile, the Moltuvian king resurrects a Moltuvian war general who died twelve years ago as well a Behemoth, which is a natural predator of dragons. They conquer the eastern half of Prigonia and set out for Atheria.

The elves and the Atherian army clash in battle with the Moltuvian army. The resurrected war general confronts Sehun, who is responsible for killing him twelve years ago. The Behemoth attacks Yifan and Tao, and they lure it away from the rest of the army. At this point, Tao has better control of his power, so he puts the Behemoth through a time loop while Yifan attacks. They barely manage to defeat the Behemoth, but Yifan is severely wounded around his neck and has a broken wing. He and Tao spiral out of the sky, but Yifan protects Tao from the impact of the fall.

When Tao wakes up, the other Exo members drag him out from underneath Yifan’s body. They refuse to let him see Yifan, and that makes Tao realize that Yifan is dead. Kyungsoo has to knock Tao out so that Luhan can lift Yifan’s body back to the elves. They hold a ceremony for him, and the next day, Galamacia shoos away the Atherian king, who came to spit on Yifan’s grave.

Barely a few days later, Moltuva is back, and this time, Galamacia sends the remaining eleven members of Exo out of Atheria. They head west past Dalgu and into Sinseye. Leeteuk wholeheartedly welcomes them back passes them the news that Atheria has fallen to Moltuva. Shortly after arriving in Sinseye, Tao has a vision of Luhan’s death.

In Sinseye, Exo prepares to fight back against Moltuva. Leeteuk sends ambassadors to Trost, Prigonia, Halwen, and Dalgu. Only Trost and Prigonia respond since Moltuva attacks and destroys Halwen and Dalgu. Several days later, word arrives from Prigonia that Moltuva is attacking. Leeteuk decides to send a few Exo members over, and he picks Luhan, Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and Jongin. Sehun tries to switch places with Luhan, fearing that Tao’s vision would come true. However, he ends up in an argument with Luhan that leaves both of them hurt and angry. As a result, Sehun refuses to see the group off as the four leave to support Prigonia.

That night, Tao is woken by Baekhyun, who says that the four are back, but judging by the latter’s expression, there is something wrong. Tao follows Baekhyun into the throne room, where Luhan’s lifeless body is laid out on a table. Jongdae says that Luhan’s murderer was the resurrected war general, and Junmyeon frets over how they’re going to break it to Sehun. Right after he says that, Sehun arrives and sees Luhan. As he begins to break down, Sehun asks to be left alone, and the rest of Exo and Leeteuk reluctantly leave the room.

Prigonia is lost to Moltuva, but part of the Prigonian army and the king managed to escape the slaughter. Surviving elves and Atherians are also in Sinseye, and the country’s resources are strained. Trost agrees to take half of the survivors in to help alleviate the stress on Sinseye. Kyungsoo and Minseok help both countries fortify their borders, Baekhyun and Yixing help plan traps in Sinseye, and Jongin and Chanyeol start evacuating citizens out to sea. Junmyeon, Jongdae, Tao, and Sehun go to Rabnadam to help the Trostian army prepare for war.

While in Trost, Sehun approaches Tao and talks about what they should do after the war. Tao doesn’t know what he wants once everything’s over, so Sehun talks about leaving the land and traveling over the sea. He says that he needs a break from the entire prophecy thing and just wants to be Sehun instead of the wind warrior. He then asks Tao if the latter would like to leave with him, and Tao says that he wants to consider it.

The final battle is actually short and decisive. The combined Sinsinian, Trostian, Atherian, Prigonian, and Elven armies fight against the Moltuvian army with the help of Exo. Sehun and the resurrected war general face off, and with the motivation of Luhan’s death, Sehun defeats the general using the same method that he used twelve years ago: slicing the war general into strips with blades of wind.

While Sehun fights his archenemy for the last time, Junmyeon, Minseok, and Tao battle against the Moltuvian king. During the fight, Minseok is incapacitated, and Tao is almost killed, but Junmyeon manages to sneak up behind the king and decapitate him, therefore ending the war. Sometime after recovery efforts are started, Tao approaches Sehun and says that he wants to leave with the latter.

However, the destruction of the Moltuvian king expelled a sickness that afflicted the survivors of the war. Tao then has more visions of Junmyeon crying, where the Exo leader is saying, “You left without telling me anything.” Then, Tao has a vision of Yixing sneaking out of the castle at dawn. Putting two and two together, Tao approaches Yixing and tells the healer that it would be best to speak to Junmyeon before leaving Fluor.

Yixing decides to take Tao’s advice and he talks to Junmyeon about the only way to cure the rampant disease and bring the Planet back to life. Junmyeon ends up leaving with Yixing, and the two go to the withered Tree of Life in Atheria. There, Yixing sits next to the Tree, giving it his life energy so that the Tree and the Planet may live again. When Junmyeon returns to Fluor the next day, the Tree is revived, the sickness is cured, but Yixing is dead.

Five years later, Junmyeon is the new king of Moltuva, Jongin and Kyungsoo are in Prigonia chasing off the last of the orcs, Chanyeol and Baekhyun are kings of the newborn Leilan, and Minseok and Jongdae are traveling from country to country. One day, Baekhyun visits Junmyeon in Moltuva, bringing news of Kyungsoo’s death, to which Junmyeon replied that he knew. Baekhyun then brings up the disappearances of Sehun and Tao, talks about how those two probably had the right idea to leave when they did, and ultimately tells Junmyeon that Jongin is planning to leave as well, and that Jongdae, Minseok, Chanyeol, and himself have agreed to go with Jongin. He invites Junmyeon to come with them and states that their jobs with the countries were done the moment Yixing died. After Baekhyun leaves, Junmyeon contemplates the offer and accepts, leaving the kingship of Moltuva to his advisor.

One hundred and fifty years afterward, Exo members are reincarnated as normal humans by the Planet to give them a chance at leading the lives they always wanted to have. A teenage Tao meets Yifan, who is traveling with his father. The latter shows Tao a mysterious egg and claims that it’s a dragon egg, foreshadowing the return of dragons to the land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is pretty much everything I had in mind for this plan. If you have anything you want to clarify or any details you're curious about, feel free to leave a comment below. I did leave some stuff out since this was supposed to be a summary.  
> All that's left now is the link for the rewrite. I should definitely be able to start the first chapter on Monday since I return to my dorm that day and most of my notes for the old plan are there. It shouldn't take too long, but my schedule for this semester is pretty awful :/  
> Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you for supporting me this far and for your future support. I'm really glad to have you guys around (some of you write really funny comments lol). Thanks again, have a nice day, and I'll see you guys next time with the link to the rewrite!


	17. New Version Posted

I have posted the new version of Exoplanet, which can be found here: [Exoplanet (New Version)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13812612/chapters/31761855)


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